Blind Sight
by BeyondTheClouds777
Summary: While attempting to build a tree house, a terrible accident occurs involving Snotlout, Hiccup and a wooden plank. To make matters worse, a new threat is looming over Berk, waiting for the right moment to nab "The Dragon Conqueror." (Set shortly after the last non-flashback scene in "Dawn of the Dragon Racers.")
1. Chapter 1

**New story, huh? Well, anyways, this is an out-of-no-where idea I got randomly one day, and so here it is! :D Enjoy! This'll be the only update on this story until tomorrow, so enjoy the cliffhanger while it lasts. :) **

_**Hiccup's POV**_

_He was standing at the top of a mast, looking at the crowd of villagers watching him as he raised the metal trident over his head. _

"_Oh boy, here he goes again," he heard Gobber groan. _

"_He doesn't make it easy," said Stoick. "Hiccup!" _

"_You'll all see for yourselves!" Hiccup shouted, his voice barely getting over the booming lightning and rolling thunder. "When I attach this metal rod to the top of this mast-" Lightning sounded behind him, and he winced. It was close; maybe too close. But he knew he had to do this. There was no backing out on it. "The lightning will be drawn to-" _

_He never did get to finish his sentence. He felt something forceful and powerful rush into him like a dragon, but it wasn't a living object. It didn't take long for Hiccup to realize it was lightning. He had been hit by _lightning_. _

"_HICCUP!" Stoick shouted, not that Hiccup could reply. he tried to scream; his voice wouldn't work. He tried to call out; useless. The searing, blinding energy from the lightning strike traveled across his body, and then stopped abruptly. And so there he stood, at the top of the mast, until his eyes rolled back in his head, and he felt himself falling. He slammed into something cold and icy, and then heard and saw no more_.

Hiccup woke up with a scream. Man, he hated _that _dream. His breathing was erratic, as if he had been struck by lightning all over again. He looked at his hands; he was shaking. The dream always made him do that.

It took Hiccup another three seconds before he registered Toothless nudging him, obviously trying to either wake him up or comfort him. That's normally what he did every time the same nightmare came to haunt the dragon rider.

It had been a few years since the lightning incident, and Hiccup was still having nightmares about it. It was a horrible sensation, feeling the electricity move through his being and then cut off, taking his consciousness with it. It wasn't something he would ever dream of repeating.

Maybe it was just him.

"Hey, bud," Hiccup greeted, patting his dragon's head head. He swung his legs - well, _leg_, that is - over the side of the bed and made sure he had the right one still. For some reason, it had become sort of a habit; every time he woke up from a nightmare, make sure he didn't lose the only real leg he had. Of course, it was just a nightmare, but Hiccup couldn't help it.

"You ready to do to the academy?" Hiccup asked Toothless. He felt like he needed something to get his mind off everything else, so he was relieved when Toothless nodded. He got up and raced down the stairs, Toothless in tow. As soon as they made it to the main level, Hiccup opened the door, let Toothless run out, and then followed him.

As soon as they were clear, Hiccup mounted the dragon, and they headed off towards the academy. As usual, the others were there before he was. Ever since the lightning incident, Hiccup had gotten into the bad habit of being late. So, they still came at usual time, he came late.

They didn't ask why he was late, and they didn't care too much either, which relieved Hiccup to no end. He despised talking about it, especially to his friends.

Toothless flew through the open gate to the academy and landed. Hiccup dismounted and looked at the others, already having arrived.

"Top of the...morning...class..." Hiccup started suspiciously. Snotlout and the twins were blocking something from his view. Behind them, Hiccup made out Astrid and Fishlegs, drawing something on a piece of parchment.

"Uhh...what's going on?" he said, walking towards the twins and Snotlout.

"Ah ah ah, Mr. Head of the Dragon Academy," said Tuffnut. Then, he whispered to Ruffnut, "That is what he is, right?"

"Um..._yeah_," said Ruffnut.

"Okay, YES, head of the dragon academy," said Tuffnut. "You are not to see it until it's done."

"Until what's done?" Hiccup questioned. "What did you guys do?" He tried to push his way passed them, but they held firm to their "positions."

"Oh no you don't!" said Snotlout, shaking his finger at his cousin. "You can't see it until it's finished!"

"Until what's finished?" Hiccup said. "You guys aren't telling me anything."

"Until the whatever it is Fishlegs and Astrid are working on is finished," said Ruffnut. "They said it's top secret. They haven't even told _us _yet."

"No!" said Tuffnut.

"They could tell us," said Ruffnut.

"Yes!" said Tuffnut.

"...but then they'd have to kill us," said Ruffnut.

"I don't wanna die!" said Tuffnut.

"Should we tell him?" Hiccup heard Fishlegs whisper to Astrid.

"Yeah, I guess so," she replied.

"Uh, _guys_," Hiccup said. "What's this all about?"

Snotlout and the twins parted and made a way for him to walk through. Astrid and Fishlegs turned around to face him, still hiding whatever it was they were working on.

"It was _going _to be a surprise," said Astrid.

"Keyword, going to, move on," said Hiccup.

"Well, we decided..."

"Stop stalling," said Snotlout.

"It's-"

"HEY!" Fishlegs shouted. "Let me tell him!"

"Aww, I wanna tell him!" said Ruffnut. "What are we supposed to tell him again?"

"We're building," said Astrid.

"A TREEHOUSE!" both she and Fishlegs declared in unison.

"A treehouse?" asked Hiccup. "That sounds fantastic!"

"Mmm hmm!" said Astrid. "And it'll look even better! Just wait until you see the plans!"

"What are the plans?" asked Hiccup.

"Oh, we're still keeping _that _little part a surprise," said Fishlegs. "We're not telling you any of our ideas for the treehouse, other than the fact that we are building it."

"Can I help you, or something?" asked Hiccup.

"Actually, yes," said Astrid. "I was just about to send Snotlout to pick up some wood at the forge. You could go with him and help him bring it to the cove."

"We're building near the cove?" Hiccup asked excitedly. It was the perfect place for it, really, what with the beautiful view and all.

"You bet," said Astrid. "We're going to build it right outside it, and then build a rope swing that dangles down, so we can jump off the treehouse and swing into the lake."

"That's fantastic!" Hiccup said, a wide smile blooming on his face. He had forgotten about his nightmare ever so slightly, and decided not to tell anyone about it. It was the same thing every time, so what did it matter?

"Well, come on, Mr. Fantastic," said Snotlout. "Let's hurry up and get that wood. I can't wait to get a start on this thing!"

Hiccup smiled and mounted Toothless before following Snotlout out. They headed to the forge, and landed in front of it.

Snotlout dismounted, as did Hiccup, before they both walked to the left side of it, finding tall pieces of wood leaning up against the building. Snotlout smiled and walked forward, grabbing one and pulling it away.

"Got it!" he said. Just as he did, though, all the other pieces started falling over. That one he had pulled had been balancing the others.

"Snotlout, look out!" Hiccup shouted. Snotlout moved out of the way just as one came at him. It fell to the ground with a rather loud _THUMP_, bouncing slightly on one side before coming to complete stillness. Snotlout looked at Hiccup smugly before his smirk turned into one of horror.

"HICCUP, BEHIND YOU!" he shouted.

Hiccup tried to move, but he wasn't fast enough. He felt something bang into him, and he lost consciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Whoah, okay, so like, I GOT ELEVEN REVIEWS ON THE FIRST CHAPTER AND THAT IS JUST CRAZY TO ME AND THANK YOU THANK YOU ALL YOU GUYS ARE SO AWESOME! HAVE A FREE VIRTUAL ICED COFFEE! :D Shout-outs: **

**xFaerieValkyriex: Headcanon? Sweet! Yeah, me too. I could imagine them building a treehouse and then holding meetings there, like if they ever started D.U.M.B. Club again. :) **

**midnightsky0612: AH! (Thanks for the review! :D) **

**silverwolvesarecool: Ahh, and the cliffhanger strikes again! I'm sorry, Sil, but I can't stop myself! :D **

**Edlover23: Thanks for the review. And oh, I will get your chapter back to you probably on Monday. :) **

**TigerLily the Wild: He he he.. *evil laugh* Sorry, I'm weird. Thanks for reviewing! :) **

**Eli Shane4eva: We shall see... Thank you for the review! :) **

**HiccupHaddockIII: Thanks! :D **

**Jesusfreak: :) **

**Guest: Thank you! And yes, sorry about that cliffhanger. You know, some people on here call me "Queen Cliffy" because of it. :) **

**SharKohen: Somethin's gonna happen. :) Thanks for the review! **

**Wanli8970: YIPES. What a way to start a story, BeyondTheClouds (Huh, I'm sarcastically scolding myself, haha). Thanks for the review! :D **

Astrid watched as Snotlout and Hiccup flew off on their dragons, and then looked back at Fishlegs, and the plans. This was going to be the best...treehouse..._ever_. She couldn't wait for Hiccup to see what they had planned for it. It was going to be brilliant.

"So what should we do now?" Astrid asked. "I mean, we've pretty much finished the plans. Should we go to Raven Point and wait for Snotlout and Hiccup to get there with the wood?"

"We could, we could," said Fishlegs, "or, we could go to the forge and help them out with the wood. You know, the more the merrier. And the more people we get to help, the faster we can start building this awesome treehouse."

"You're right," said Astrid.

"So why are we helping out again?" said Tuffnut. "I didn't agree to anything. Now I feel cheated."

"Guys, we can talk later," said Fishlegs. "Let's go ahead and head out to the forge. I'm sure the others will be thrilled to have us help them."

They mounted their assigned dragons, and then flew off towards the forge. They had put some wood aside earlier that morning before Hiccup was even awake. Now, all they had to do was go get it.

Astrid wasn't quite ready for what they found.

They landed in front of the forge and went to the side of the building where they had left the wood. She gasped when she saw what she had least expected. All the wood had been knocked over, but that wasn't exactly it. Hiccup was lying unconscious on the ground, a large gash on his hairline. Snotlout was kneeling next to his cousin, shaking his shoulder, trying to get him to wake up.

Astrid raced over, followed by Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. They crowded around Snotlout and Hiccup, and Astrid could only find two words to say:

"What happened!?"

"I pulled a piece of wood out, and they all fell over!" said Snotlout. "I moved out of the way, but one of them smacked you-know-who."

"Who's that?" said Tuffnut.

"HICCUP!" they screamed at him in unison.

"Oh, right, Hiccup," said Tuffnut. He looked down, and seemingly noticed Hiccup for the first time. "Whoa, what happened!?" he shouted.

Fishlegs smacked his forehead.

"What do we do!?" Snotlout shouted.

"Help," said Astrid. "We go get help. Fishlegs, get Stoick."

"Gotcha," said Fishlegs, and ran off, jumped on Meatlung, and then headed off to find the chief.

"Ruffnut and Tuffnut, get Gothi," said Astrid.

"You got it," they both said in unison. They turned to each other and ran, not noticing they had run into each other. Then, they shook their heads and mounted their Zippleback before flying off to get the village healer.

Snotlout was still panicking. "It's my fault!" he said. "I shouldn't have moved that stupid piece of wood in the first place!"

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself and go get something I can put up against the gash!" Astrid snapped. Snotlout stood, nodded, and then headed off into the forge, where he was certain a cloth of some sort would be. On any other day, he would have come up with some smartalic remark, but right now, they might not have had time for that.

Meantime, Astrid tried to use what little medical training she had to help her friend. She hadn't been interested while people were trying to teach her, but the important stuff stuck; what to do if someone has a blow to the head was one of the things she was most familiar with.

As she had been taught, she treated the injury as if it also caused spinal damage. She put her hands on either side of Hiccup's head and kept it in line with his neck to avoid twisting. She snapped her fingers in his face and shouted, "Can you hear me?" He remained unconscious.

Okay, scratch that. Snotlout arrived an instant later, carrying a thick, clean, dry cloth. He held it out to Astrid, but she didn't take it. Instead, she told Snotlout how to do it.

"Press it to the gash," she said. "If the blood soaks through, don't remove it. You'll have to go get another one."

Snotlout, hesitating slightly (but not too much, knowing how serious this was), pressed the cloth to his cousin's injury. Hiccup didn't even flinch, or moan, or anything. This only added to Astrid and Snotlout's worry. Was he really this out of it?

Then, Hiccup opened his eyes and stared up at them.

...

Everything hurt, but especially his head. He looked up, squinted and saw two dark figures looming over him, but he couldn't make out who they were or what their facial expressions were. He tried to say something, and then ended up moaning instead. There was something pressed against his skull, and then two more things pressed up against either side of his head.

"Hiccup..." said the voice of Astrid. "Hiccup, come on, buddy, say something to me."

Astrid. So one of them was Astrid. Made sense, actually, but what about the other?

"Come on, cuz, say something," said Snotlout. Snotlout? What was that in his voice? Concern? Worry? Was Snotlout actually _worried? _If Snotlout and Astrid were both worried, it must have been something serious.

Then everything came back to him. Snotlout shouting at him, and then feeling something ram into him...it all made sense. That's why his head was hurting so much. He still couldn't make out the figures; they looked like dark silhouettes. Everything behind them looked grey, slightly lighter than the figures themselves.

"Hiccup, say something!" Astrid shouted.

"Y...you're b-being t-t-too l - oud..." Hiccup got out.

"I'm sorry!" Astrid apologized sincerely. There was a sort of relief in her voice hearing him speak, and that made Hiccup feel reassured. He felt dizzy all of a sudden, his head swimming as if a Gronckle had just smashed into it at full speed. The dark shapes his eyes saw became blurry and darker than before, and then shut his eyes against that and the pounding in his head, thumping to the beat of an invisible drum, not knowing what else to do to relieve himself of his pain.

"No!" Astrid shouted with worry, regret, and almost terror. "I need you to stay awake! Stay awake! Stay awake!" Her voice was fading, though, as she kept repeating the same sentence over and over and over again. Eventually, her voice faded altogether as the calls of unconsciousness beckoned Hiccup in once more.

...

"HICCUP!" Astrid screamed at him. "You have to stay awake!"

"It's too late, Astrid!" said Snotlout. "He's already out!"

Astrid felt like snapping at the boy, but she held her tongue. He was just as worried about Hiccup as she was. But still, Astrid was terrified. As long as Hiccup was awake, that meant that Astrid would always know he was okay. But now that he was unconscious again, there was no way for her to know for certain.

At that moment, there was no way for _anyone _to know for certain.


	3. Chapter 3

**That last chapter was harder for me to write than one would think. I did a lot of research on head injuries for said chapter, and I'm not sure I like writing about them yet *shrugs* Aaaaaanywwwaaays, this chapter's not really very long, but it's important, so...yup, it's important. And that's pretty much it. As usual, enjoy the chapter, hate the cliffhanger. Have fun. I'll have to do shout-outs every other chapter, because my e-mail doesn't work very well sometimes. :) Anyways, enjoy the chapter! :) **

Hiccup didn't wake up much after that. Every now and then, he would say something barely audible, like _Stop it hurts _or _What is that? _or _What happened? _Before Astrid could even answer, he was unconscious again. It was really starting to freak her out.

Not too long afterwards, Stoick and Gothi arrived. After Gothi made sure it was safe to move Hiccup, Stoick picked him up and then he, Gothi, Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins followed them to the Haddock residence.

...

"She's been in there for _hooooours_," Tuffnut groaned. "How long does it take to check someone's head injury?"

"Longer than you would think, Tuffnut," said Fishlegs.

"I didn't know that," said Tuffnut.

"Often because you rarely think," said Fishlegs.

"You're right," said Tuffnut. "I _don't _think. It makes me refrain from being crazy."

"Guys, you're getting off subject," said Astrid. "Snotlout, what happened _exactly?" _

"I told you earlier," said Snotlout. "I moved a piece of wood that was balancing the other ones, and then one of them hit Hiccup, and then he was out like a light. There's nothing more to say, Astrid, really, I promise. And I'm so sorry. I didn't want anyone to get hurt!"

"No one's blaming you, Snotlout," said Stoick. He looked towards the stairs. "I just hope he'll be alright."

"Yeah, that was a nasty looking cut," said Fishlegs. "I betcha he'll have a nice scar to show off after all this is over with and..." He noticed everyone staring at him, some in shock, and others with glares. "Aaand I've said too much."

"Yeah, you're not helping," said Astrid.

"What are you worrying about?" said Ruffnut. "He's Hiccup. He's always fine."

"Yeah, like the time he lost his leg to the Red Death," said Fishlegs.

"Again, Fishlegs, not helping," said Astrid.

"Sorry," said Fishlegs. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Maybe," said Astrid, "but all the same, I'm worried."

Truly, though, she was. Every time he woke up before Gothi and Stoick arrived, he had been severely out of it and dangerously unable to stay conscious for more than a few measly seconds.

"And when he wakes up, we'll make it up to him," said Astrid. "We'll show him those plans for that treehouse, and ask him for some tips. I'm sure he has some. Maybe we shouldn't keep it a surprise after all. If he wants to see it, you better believe we'll show him. Are we all in agreement?"

"Agreement on what?" said Tuffnut.

"Never mind," said Astrid. "I'll take that as a yes, I suppose."

"A yes to what?" said Tuffnut. "Did I miss something?"

"No, you're just ignorant," said Fishlegs.

"What does that mean?" said Tuffnut.

"I rest my case," said Fishlegs.

At that moment, Gothi walked down the stairs, her face unreadable. The others jumped to their feet and walked over, wondering what was going to become of this talk.

Gothi wrote out on the floor, and Fishlegs translated.

"She says he's lucky," he said. "It's not serious. When he wakes up, he'll probably just have a headache, but she also says it will ease quickly."

"So we're good now?" said Astrid. "Nothing too bad? What about the gash?"

"She says it wasn't very deep," said Fishlegs. "It's already pretty much closed up on its own. Give or take a few more days."

"Oh thank goodness," said Tuffnut. "Wait what happened?"

Shortly after, Gothi bid them farewell and left the household. A little while after she did, Stoick left to tend to the village and tell them of Hiccup's condition. The others remained in the house, wondering what their next move should be.

"Should we go up?" said Fishlegs.

"Go up where?" said Snotlout.

"To Hiccup's loft," said Fishlegs.

"Oh," said Snotlout. "I don't see why not. Besides, that way, when he wakes up, he won't have to worry about or wonder where we are."

Astrid nodded and walked up the steps, followed by the others in close pursuit. Toothless was standing on the left side of Hiccup's bed, growling at the youths when they entered the room, and then stopping once he realized it was only them. Hiccup's condition hadn't changed much since the last time they had seen him, except the gash wasn't bleeding.

"Ah, see, Snotlout?" said Fishlegs. "You got worried for nothing."

"Hey, I'm his cousin," said Snotlout. "It's my job to worry."

"Since when do you worry about anyone or anything?" said Astrid.

"Since it was my fault this happened," said Snotlout. Wow. Snotlout, being _thoughtful? _This was something new. Normally, he couldn't care less what happened to someone else.

"What now?" said Tuffnut.

"We wait," said Astrid. "Actually, if you and Ruffnut can, why don't you take that wood to the cove before someone else knocks themselves out on it?"

"That's great," said Tuffnut. "Do we get to blow it up?"

"NO," said the others in unison.

"Drat," said Tuffnut. "Anyways, gotta go!" He and his sister ran back down the stairs, tripping over each other until they finally stumbled out the door.

...

He wasn't exactly sure what brought him back to consciousness. Maybe it was the throbbing in his head that made it impossible to think of anything else, or maybe it was the fact there were voices speaking to each other in hushed tones; like someone trying to keep silent, and failing all the same.

Hiccup opened his eyes, finding it dark in the room he was in. He realized it was his own room; where else would he be? He sat up, wincing and gripping his head, trying to look for something he could see, yet finding nothing. Maybe it was midnight; that would explain it. Maybe he had been unconscious through the entire day, and was waking up in the middle of the night.

"Hiccup!" three different voices shouted in a jumbled unison.

"You're awake!" said the voice of Astrid. "Well, that was quick."

"Hiccup Haddock; always one to recover quickly," said the voice of Fishlegs. "How are you?"

"Hey, baby cousin," said Snotlout.

"I'm older than you," said Hiccup.

"What_ever_," said Snotlout. "Seriously though, I am so sorry about the wood. I didn't mean to knock you out, or anything."

"No, it's fine," said Hiccup. "But could you guys please light a candle or something? It's dark. I suppose I slept through yesterday, then, and now it's the middle of the night?"

There was a short silence before Astrid spoke again.

"Hiccup...it's the middle of the _afternoon_," she said. "It's only been a few hours since the accident."

"Middle of the..._afternoon_," said Hiccup in disbelief, wondering if he had heard her wrong. "That doesn't make any sense. Why's it so dark?"

There was more silence, until Astrid suddenly gasped.

"Hiccup..." she said, "how many fingers am I holding up?"

"You're holding up fingers?" Hiccup frowned. "Where?"

"Right in front of your face, Dragon Boy!" Astrid shouted. "Can you _seeeeeee _my fingers?"

"I can't even see _you_!" said Hiccup. "What are you guys trying to pull?"

"Nothing!" Snotlout, Fishlegs and Astrid shouted in unison.

"We're not doing anything!" Fishlegs insisted.

Suddenly, the three of them gasped, all apparently coming to the same realization.

"Hiccup..." said Astrid, "I think you're blind."

**Note: I actually don't know if Hiccup is older than Snotlout or not, but he sure looks older, so there ya go. I know they're both twenty in HTTYD2, but I don't know when Snotlout's birthday is (Hiccup's is in February), so I really don't know who's older. Just wanted to get that out there. :D If anyone knows, feel free to tell me. **


	4. Chapter 4

**So I know that last chapter didn't exactly end as one would have imagined, and I am sorry, but hey, it's the main plot for the fanfiction. And it only gets worse from here. (Heh heh heh). I'm only half joking. Those last few chapters were hard for me to write, really, in all honesty. It took a while, and they weren't very fun, but it had to be done. It took a loooooooot of research. :) I hope you enjoy this chapter, even though it probably won't be too uplifting. I'm so mean to these characters sometimes. :) Hope you all enjoy it! **

Blind. That one simple word rung in his head louder than a Night Fury's roar. He was blind. He was _blind_.

"I..." he couldn't even repeat it. "What do you mean I'm bli...ahh. I can't be...that. What do you mean?"

"You're blind," said Fishlegs. "Head injuries often cause either partial or total blindness."

"But it'll wear off, right?" said Hiccup. "Temporary?" He knew it wasn't so, though. More than likely, it would never wear off. He would be stuck like that for the rest of his life.

He shook his head to knock himself out of his negative thoughts faster than that board had knocked him...gosh, he really shouldn't have used that analogy. He sighed and rubbed his hand over his eyes after closing them, not that it made a difference.

"No one else knows," said Astrid. "Maybe...maybe Gothi knows some way to get your vision bac-"

"No," said Hiccup. "No, there's not."

"How do you know?" said Astrid.

"Because I did a lot of research on stuff like injuries," said Hiccup. "Don't know why. For some reason, for about three years I had become fascinated with health. Don't ask me why, please, because frankly I have no idea."

"We should tell someone," said Astrid. "Give them a heads up. We should have a meeting at the Great Hall, tell your Dad...oh, your _Dad._"

"I don't think he's going to take it too well," said Hiccup.

"How can he be expected to?" said Fishlegs. "His eldest and only son just lost his vision."

"Thank you, Fishlegs, I did not see that," said Hiccup. He groaned and smacked himself an instant later, wishing he hadn't used that reference. He couldn't _see _anything. His sarcasm was more of reality. And he absolutely hated it.

"We shouldn't wait," said Hiccup. "There's no use."

"We'll back you up on it," said Astrid.

Just as she spoke, the front door flew open, and Ruffnut and Tuffnut ran up the stairs, tripping over each other in an attempt to beat the other out.

"Hey, Hiccup!" Tuffnut shouted once he saw that his friend was conscious. "You'll have a scar for life!"

On instinct, Hiccup put his hand up against the part of his head that hurt the most. He felt a recently formed scab on his hairline, and frowned.

"Yeah, scar, fun," he said. "Pain..._love it_."

"Guys, maybe you should go," said Astrid. "Tell Stoick we need to talk to him."

"But I want to see the scar!" Ruffnut retorted as Astrid pushed her and her brother back down the stairs.

"Goodbye," said Astrid.

"We'll get Stoick," said Tuffnut.

"Good_bye_," said Astrid.

"And then we'll see the scar!" said Ruffnut.

"_GOODBYE!" _Astrid finally managed to shove them out the door way, shutting it quickly behind her. After she was soon they had taken off, she walked back up the stairs. Hiccup was standing. Snotlout was waving his hand in front of his cousin's face, trying to garner a reaction.

"This is so _weird," _said Snotlout, moving his hand back to his side.

"If some lunatic suddenly jumps out from behind me..." Hiccup started.

"Never mind," said Astrid. "If anyone jumps and tries to freak you out, I'll get Stormfly to sit on them and won't let them leave until they get on their hands and knees and beg for forgiveness."

"I was going to say ground them for a week, but okay," said Hiccup.

Astrid found herself agreeing and yet disagreeing all at once. She was mainly worried about Ruffnut or Tuffnut doing something like that, but other than those two weirdos, it was pretty much okay. As long as no one made any sudden movements.

She gently took hold of Hiccup's forearm, ignoring how he jumped slightly at her touch, and then guided him down the stairway, the others following closely behind.

"We should probably wait down here," said Astrid. "Just wait for your Dad to get here."

"I don't know how I'm going to tell him," said Hiccup. "What will he...what will he do? I don't know how to start. '_Hey, Dad, it's nice to...uh...see_ _you. Oh that's right I forgot to mention I _can't _see you!' _won't work too well."

"I'll help you," said Astrid. "We'll do-"

The door burst open. Hiccup held his breath, knowing who it was without even seeing them. He felt arms wrap around him in a tight hug and tensed ever so slightly, not expecting the sudden contact.

"It's great to see you're alright, son," said the voice of Stoick; the person Hiccup had expected. Hiccup sighed, trying to figure out which direction the voice came from without being able to see.

"Um...sir," said Astrid, not knowing how she should tell him exactly what had happened. "Hiccup...Hiccup's blind."

For the first time since arriving, Stoick realized that Hiccup's eyes focused on nothing in particular. There was no difference in his emerald green eyes except for the fact that they had no light to them. There was no recognition in Hiccup's gaze. Stoick waved his hand in front of his face. Hiccup continued to stare out into the open, not even registering it.

He wasn't sure what to think; what to say.

"Is it true?" That was the first thing on his mind. Hear it from Hiccup himself. Hiccup sighed heavily and nodded uncertainly, wondering how his father was going to take it. Toothless nudged Hiccup from behind, causing him to jump, and then relax once he realized it was only his dragon.

"Yes, Dad, it's true," said Hiccup. "I'm...I'm blind."


	5. Chapter 5

**This is my SECOND update today, and I'm sorry for the lack of shout-outs. I'll have to do them every few chapters, but I will do them. :) Shout-outs (for chapter 4): **

**motherdrukker: Thanks for reviewing! :) **

**HiccupHaddockIII: AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! **

**silverwolvesarecool: I'm sorry about that cliffy thing there, Sil, but I tend to do it a lot. :) **

**LorreVarguhl: Thanks for the review! :D **

**TheLastNightFury: Ah, yes. For some reason, I want to see Hiccup get hurt in one of the other seasons, just because I want to see how Astrid reacts. Because she really does care about him, no matter how much she doesn't think she does. :) **

**Silver Electricity: COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE! THANK YOU FOR DA COFFEE! :D CWASY CHAPPIE YAY! **

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**Guest: Here is your review reply! :D I will do them every other few chapters, since I can't do them every chapter because my e-mail has problems sometimes. **

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**xFaerieValkyriex: Frozen sock...never really thought about that. :) And I don't think a blow to the head would be very beneficial, although it sounds like something Snotlout and the twins would try to pull. *grouphug you and Hiccup* **

**AnimeAngel: PIIIIIEEEE AND LEMONADE! THANK YOU! :D Have a free virtual vanilla latte! :D **

What were they supposed to do, other than go see if Gothi had an explanation? Hiccup didn't have a clue, so he just rolled with it. Stoick was called to help settle an argument, leaving Astrid, Hiccup, Snotlout, and Fishlegs to go to Gothi's.

On their way, they heard someone shout to them.

"Astrid! Hiccup! Fishlegs! Snotlout!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut shouted in perfect unison as they ran up behind them. The twins stopped right behind them when they turned around.

"We finished moving all of the wood to the cove," said Ruffnut. "Can we see the scar _now_?"

"Now's not the time," said Astrid.

"No, it's not," said Hiccup.

"Dude, what are you looking at?" said Tuffnut.

"Nothing," said Hiccup. He tried to make eye contact with Tuffnut, but not being able to see where he was looking made it challenging. No, not challenging; impossible.

"Whoa, _now _what are you looking at?" said Tuffnut.

"Guys, I'm blind," said Hiccup. Wow, that hurt. Some part of him was glad he couldn't see the reaction Ruffnut and Tuffnut had.

"Wow, Hiccup, I'm so sorry," said Ruffnut. Well, at least _she _cared.

"Me too," said Tuffnut in the same apologetic tone as his sister.

"Me three," said Hiccup. "We're going to Gothi's right now to see if we can't figure something out."

"Can we go with you?" said Tuffnut.

"Yeah," said Hiccup. "Sure. Now let's see what we can find. Or...at least _you'll _see. I'll have to wait, quite possibly..." His voice trailed off. He didn't want to say it.

Astrid was quick to change the subject. "So, let's get going!" she said, probably too cheerfully. "And don't worry, Hiccup. It'll be fine. You'll see." For a few seconds, she hated herself for what she just said. She was trying to _change _the subject; not make it even _worse_. But either no one noticed it, or no one cared or thought too much about it, because they just continued walking.

When they reached Gothi's, Hiccup went inside with Astrid while the others and their dragons remained outside the door. Gothi was reading when they entered, and regarded Hiccup and Astrid with a nod before standing and approaching them.

"Gothi," said Astrid, "Hiccup is blind. Is there something we can do?"

Gothi looked from Astrid to Hiccup in stunned shock. She waved her hand in front of Hiccup's eyes, garnering not even so much as even a small reaction. Gothi waved her hand and gestured for Hiccup to sit down. Astrid directed him over to the bench, and then sat down next to him.

Gothi looked at them both, and then looked straight into Hiccup's eyes.

"What's going on?" Hiccup asked. "I don't know..."

"She's just checking you out," said Astrid. "Don't worry, Hiccup. Gothi's the best. She'll know what to do."

After a few more minutes, Gothi took a step back. She grabbed her staff, yet didn't do anything else.

"Well?" said Astrid, who was beginning to fell impatient. "Is there something we can do? Is there a way to get his vision back?"

Gothi looked at them both once more and then began writing stuff out with her staff. Astrid leaned over it, trying to make sense of the runes with what little she had learned in the past, and then gasped.

_There is nothing we can do one way or the other. It could last for a short amount of time, or it could last forever. There is no knowing either way. But by the looks of it, I would say that it is quite permanent. _

"WHAT!?" Hiccup shouted when Astrid said nothing else, leaving the room to fall silent. Astrid jumped at his sudden shouting, a bit taken back. "Why'd you gasp like that, Astrid!? What is it!? What's wrong!?"

"I..." Astrid found herself actually at a loss of words. She didn't know what she could say, especially after telling Hiccup that it would be okay.

"What is it, Astrid?" said Hiccup, much calmer now. "Don't try to sugar coat it, Astrid, just _tell me!_"

"She says...she says she thinks it's permanent," Astrid barely managed to get the words out. Now it was _Hiccup's _turn to gasp.

"P-permanent," Hiccup stuttered. He stood up and stumbled backwards slightly, trying to wrap his mind around everything. He was blind. Permanently.

"Hiccup..." Astrid started, wondering what she should or could say. "I'm...I'm so sorry, Hiccup. I'm so...so...sorry."

"It's...it's okay," said Hiccup, although his mind was screaming the exact opposite. No, it _wasn't _okay. He was _never _going to be the same again. Blind. Blind. Blind. Blind. Blind. That word hung in the air. The abode had fallen completely and eerily silent. No one said another word, until Hiccup continued.

"It's not your fault," he said, quite possibly too calmly. "It wasn't anyone's fault. Thank you, Gothi." He turned and started heading towards the door, crashing into the wall when he tried.

"Here," said Astrid. "This way." She gently grabbed his wrist and tugged him in the proper direction. He went with her, not knowing what else to do, but also knowing that he didn't have a choice.

Hiccup knew that they had left the house when he heard the door shut and footsteps approach. He knew it was his friends; he didn't need Astrid to tell him.

"Well?" said Snotlout. "What's the word on it?"

"What did Gothi say?" Tuffnut asked.

"She said..." Astrid started, but hesitated. "She said...she said she thinks it's permanent. Hiccup's blind...quite possibly..._forever_."


	6. Chapter 6

**NEW CHAPTER! :D This is my THIRD update today, if I stand correctly. Shout-outs for chapter 8, so you all know (meaning the reviews I get for chapter 7 will be shouted out. Hopefully my e-mail works by then). :) Enjoy the chapter! :D **

The others gasped as soon as the words left Astrid's mouth. Hiccup shifted his gaze to his feet - that is to say foot - even though he couldn't see what he was looking at. For all he knew, he could have had a blue elephant painted on his boot and he would have never known.

The silence was broken when Fishlegs finally decided to speak up.

"He...he can't be blind _forever_," said Fishlegs. "He's the leader of the academy! More than that, though, he's our friend! There has to be something!"

"Gothi's the best healer on Berk," said Hiccup. He couldn't see, but he was sure they were all looking at him. "If there's nothing _she _can do, then there's nothing _any _of us could do."

"It's my fault!" Snotlout blamed himself. "It's all my fault! I shouldn't have moved that piece of wood! I should have been more careful!"

"No one's blaming you, Snotlout," said Astrid.

"I don't blame you," said Hiccup. "I should have moved out of the way."

"Stop blaming yourself!" said Snotlout. "It was my fault, and you know it! If I had only been more cautious..."

"Hey, don't worry about it any more!" said Hiccup. "It's...it's not the end of the world." He was desperate to change the subject as soon as possible, so he said the first thing that came to mind: "You guys want to go work on the treehouse?"

"Really?" said Ruffnut. "You want to?"

"Sure," said Hiccup.

Astrid knew he was just trying to keep his mind off what had happened, so she went with it.

"Yeah!" she said. "Let's get a jump on it! Hiccup, you can ride with me on Stormfly. We'll go ahead to the cove. The rest of you, find some nails, hammers, ropes and saws. We'll build this treehouse, and we'll make sure it's a good one, too."

Astrid lead Hiccup back over to Stormfly, mounted, and then pulled him up. Toothless roared at them.

"Follow us to the cove, bud," Hiccup called to him. He felt terrible for not riding the poor dragon, but if he couldn't see where he was going, it was going to be bad. Toothless growled in agreement, yet didn't sound too happy about it.

So, the others mounted their dragons and headed back to the forge to get supplies, and Astrid, Stormfly, Hiccup and Toothless went to the cove.

Hiccup was silent most the ride, enjoying the wind blowing his auburn, short, unkempt hair in and out of his face at different times. Astrid didn't speak, not knowing what to say, until finally she got something.

"The treehouse should be great," she said. "And we'll make sure you're the first one to try the rope swing."

Hiccup laughed half-heartedly. "Thanks, Astrid," he said. "But I'm not so sure if it's a very good idea, me being blind and all."

"I really wish you wouldn't mention it," said Astrid. "It's already bad enough. I wish...I really just wish there was something I could do to help." She paused, waiting for him to say something. When he didn't, she continued. "Is there?" she asked.

"Maybe you could be my eyes for me," said Hiccup. "Y'know...since I won't be able to exactly..._see _thre treehouse, per say, you could describe it for me, and it will be just as good."

"That would work," said Astrid. "So, do you want me to be your eyes just for the treehouse ordeal, or should I be your eyes in general?"

"You could, if you want to," said Hiccup.

"Okay," said Astrid. "Um...it's windy today. We're almost to the cove. The trees look absolutely remarkable, it's rather cloudy. Maybe it'll snow later on, or something. Toothless is following from below...yeah, he's keeping up with us rather well, too."

"See?" said Hiccup. "You're doing a great job."

Astrid smiled, although he couldn't see it. "Well, I'm glad I could finally do something to help you," she said. "Oh, there's the cove! We're landing now." She patted Stormfly, and the dragon switched direction, heading downwards.

Stormfly landed in the cove just as Toothless arrived, panting heavily and flopping on the ground from the rather long run. Astrid dismounted, followed by Hiccup.

"So we're at the cove?" said Hiccup.

"Yep," said Astrid. "The waterfall's glistening in the little sunlight we have today. The clouds have parted ever so slightly. Toothless is laying down, and Stormfly is...well, _was _behind us. Now, she's chasing a butterfly."

And so she was. Astrid was barely containing a laugh as Stormfly jumped up, falling into the water, missing the butterfly entirely.

"She just fell into the lake," said Astrid between laughs. "And now she's mad at the butterfly."

Hiccup laughed. "This is almost as good as seeing it for myself," he said. "You have a gift in explaining things."

Astrid laughed.

"So, where are you going to build the treehouse?" Hiccup asked before she could respond.

"There's a tree kind of close to the cove," said Astrid. "It's roots are planted firmly on the ground above the cove, but then the tree is growing sideways, so it leans over the lake. It's a sturdy tree, we've already made sure of that. And we're going to make the rope swing after we finish the rest of the building."

"Sounds cool," said Hiccup.

Astrid looked up just in time to see Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut arrive on their dragons, their arms full of tools and ropes and nails.

"We got the supplies!" said Fishlegs, jumping off Meatlung, dropping a hammer in the process. Meatlung picked it up in her teeth and handed it back to Fishlegs, who quickly thanked the dragon and then refocused his attention on Astrid and Hiccup.

"We're ready to do it!" said Snotlout.

"That's good," said Astrid. "Let's start building, and maybe we can do the first half of it today, and then the rest of it tomorrow. That way, we can finish it in a timely manner."

"Nice," said Hiccup, slightly overenthusiastically. "With the dragons working with you, it shouldn't take too long. I bet that if you really tried, you guys could build the _entire _treehouse today."

"I'll take that as a challenge!" said Astrid. "Well, let's get a jump on it!"

...

"Sir," a soldier spoke to his commander, "we are almost ready to sail out. Are you sure you don't want to bring the rest of the armada?"

"Positive," spoke a gruff, rough sounding voice. "We aren't there to fight the Berkians. We're there for one man, and one man only."

"But sir," said the soldier, "that boy has a Night Fury. It won't let him go willingly."

"We don't need him to go willingly," said the gruff voice. "We'll trap that Night Fury, leave a note for Berk, and then take the boy."

"But sir, this plan is savage," said the soldier.

"I know," said Gruff Voice. "Isn't it great?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Shout-outs next chapter, I promise. My e-mail is being a bully. This is my FIRST update today, and I hope you enjoy this one. :D **

Hiccup sat on a rock, Toothless sitting next to him, as Astrid, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs and the dragons worked on the treehouse. Astrid took command, spurting out different instructions to different people, who scrambled to do as she asked.

"Snotlout, watch where you're swinging that axe!" said Astrid, ducking when Snotlout hacked at a large, thick piece of wood.

"I'm trying!" Snotlout complained, swinging his axe once more, nearly cutting off his head in the process. "This board doesn't want to cut in half!"

"Then do it harder!" said Astrid. She looked to the side, watching as Fishlegs, who was at the top of the tree they were building on, hammered nails into it, making sure it was stable as he went. "Fishlegs, you almost done with that first section?" Astrid called up to him.

"Yep!" Fishlegs answered, hammering another nail into the wood, securing it to the tree. "Just a few more nails and a few more pounds of the hammer, and we are done with the first plank of the platform!"

"Good," said Astrid. She turned around, just in time to see Ruffnut swing one of the saws at her brother. Tuffnut ducked and swung his own back at her. They parried with the tools and went into hysterical laughter. "Ruffnut, Tuffnut, what are you doing with those saws?" Astrid asked.

"Playing tag!" said Tuffnut, blocking a blow from Ruffnut.

"Yeah!" his sister agreed, lowering her "weapon" to face Astrid.

"With _saws!?" _said Astrid angrily.

"It's complicated!" said Tuffnut. "You wouldn't understand." He and his sister started fighting once more.

"Guys, stop getting distracted!" said Astrid.

"We never get distra - OH, is that a butterfly?" said Tuffnut, staring at the fluttering insect with awe.

"You guys are as bad as Stormfly," Astrid grumbled. "You done, Fishlegs?" she called up to him once more.

"Done!" said Fishlegs. "Meatlung, could you bring me another board?"

Meatlung growled and complied, gripping another piece of flat wood in her teeth before flying back up and laying it next to the first one. Fishlegs thanked the dragon and then continued hammering.

"You almost done, Snotlout?" said Astrid, wincing when she heard his axe slice through the wood. "We need that third piece as soon as Fishlegs finishes that second one."

"I can't do it!" Snotlout grumbled, throwing his axe on the ground and crossing his arms, sitting down on the ground like a child throwing a fit. "I just can't do it!"

"Do it, and be ready when Fishlegs is!" said Astrid.

"I can't do something like this so quickly!" said Snotlout. "Give me _ONE _good reason why I should do this!"

"I'll give you _FIVE _good reasons!" said Astrid. "One-" She put one finger down. "-two-" she put another down, "-three-" another, "-four-" another, "-FIVE!" She made a fist once all her fingers had been counted off, holding it close to Snotlout threateningly.

"Those are good reasons!" said Snotlout, scrambling for the axe and hacking at the wood again.

"That's what I thought you'd say," said Astrid.

After another hour, the entire floor of the treehouse was built and steady. Hiccup listened to them work, laughing whenever Astrid got mad at the twins or Snotlout, enjoying the sound of the hammer banging against the nails, only because it reminded him of the forge, where he spent a majority of his past life.

After that was done, Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout, Fishlegs and the dragons took to making the walls. They built them in a remarkably short amount of time, thanks to the dragons.

By evening, the treehouse was nearly completed. The only thing left to do was build the roof, and then the rope swing, neither of which would take all that long if they did a good and diligent job on it, and worked together.

"Should we call it a night?" said Astrid. It was getting darker, the sun slowly sinking behind the isle of Berk.

Apparently, no one thought it was a good idea to be stopping at that moment. They were too excited, and too hyped up about the treehouse to take a break, even if they were going to work on it again the next morning.

"No!" said Tuffnut. "We're almost done! Let's just finish it up, and then we can call it a night."

Astrid smiled. She hadn't really expected anyone to want to stop. "Okay," said Astrid. "Then let's get a jump on it, and try to finish it before it gets too dark to work."

"I'll time you!" said Hiccup. "Ready...set...GO!"

The dragons and riders scrambled with building parts, fashioning a sturdy roof as well as finding a rope long enough and secure enough to be a safe swing. While Snotlout and the twins took to tying the rope to one of the overhanging branches, Astrid and Fishlegs worked on the roof.

They hammered, sawed, their dragons brought more pieces, and then they repeated. They continued the cycle over and over and over again until the treehouse was deemed completed a few hours later, just as it became dark. Once it was, Astrid and the others jumped away to look at it.

"Done!" Astrid shouted.

"Roughly three hours since I started counting," said Hiccup, clapping slowly. "Well done."

"Wow," said Fishlegs, standing back to gaze at their finished work. "Not too bad."

"I think it's awesome!" said Tuffnut.

"Not my _finest _work," Snotlout boasted arrogantly.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "We'll try everything out tomorrow," she said. "It's late now, and we should be getting back to the village."

"Can do," said Hiccup. He got on Toothless' back and sighed. He couldn't fly the dragon, so maybe the dragon could run, that way at least he didn't feel so bad about everything.

So, Toothless ran back to the village, the other dragons and riders following them from the sky.

...

"We should reach Berk by this time tomorrow, sir," said a soldier.

"Good," replied the leader. "And then this time tomorrow, that Dragon Boy will be ours."


	8. Chapter 8

**This is my SECOND update today, and guess whose e-mail is working again? *smiles* That's right! Mine! Shout-outs: **

**Jesusfreak: My email is strange, and mean. *shrugs* IT DOESN'T LIKE ME! *pouts in corner* You'll learn who the bad guy is in a few chapters, so stay tuned! :D **

**destiny draco: We shall see! Thank you for the review! :D **

** : Ahaha! Nice! Thanks for the review! :D **

**AnimeAngel: Yes, it was from Charlie Brown. Hahahaha! :D Tag with saws...oh brother. :) **

**LorreVarguhl: Thanks for reviewing! :D **

**SMr. Freeze: Agh thank you for pointing that out! :D It might take a bit to get used to, haha. :) **

**sunsetglimmer: :D **

**Silver Electricity: Yeah, it's from Charlie Brown Christmas. :) COFFEE! HAVE SOME COFFEE AND A LATTE! :D **

**xFaerieValkyriex: Evil dude...that's probably the best summary for the villain I've heard so far, haha. :D **

**silverwolvesarecool: :D **

**HiccupHaddockIII: XD! Five good reasons! :D**

**Transformers 0: Stormfly's so cute! :D Thanks for reviewing! :D **

**I would also like to thank all of those out there who read without faving, following, or reviewing. I know you guys are out there, and putting aside the fact that that is totally creepy, I would like to say thanks. :D And thanks to all those who do review, fav and follow. All of my readers, whether they show themselves or not, are incredibly awesome. :) Thank you! :D **

They all went up to the Great Hall for dinner, and then big each other goodnight before walking to their assigned homes. All except Astrid, who accompanied Hiccup to make sure he got there without banging into something.

"So did the treehouse work out alright?" Hiccup asked.

"Oh, the treehouse?" Astrid repeated. Hiccup nodded. "Oh, yeah, it did," she said. "I wish...I wish you could see it, Hiccup. Maybe I should have just showed you the plans while we still had the chance."

"Don't worry about it, Astrid," said Hiccup. "You wanted to make it a surprise, and I understand that. I wish it hadn't happened, the whole blind thing, but...hey, can't change what happens, as much as we wish we could."

"You don't need to tell me, Hiccup, I know," said Astrid. She sighed. "I just wish...I don't know, that everything was different. If I hadn't even come up with that treehouse idea, you'd still have your vision."

"But the treehouse was a great idea, Astrid," said Hiccup. "Sure, I might never be able to actually _see _it, but you describing it is a close second."

Astrid smiled slightly. "Well," she said, "you know, Gothi didn't say she was absolutely positive it was permanent. Maybe you'll still get your sight back, someday."

"That'd be cool," said Hiccup. "Someday, I suppose."

"Well, we're here," said Astrid, tugging Hiccup onto his front porch. "You got it from here?"

"Yeah, I do," said Hiccup. "I know my way around my house."

"Okay," said Astrid. "Well, I guess I'll see you...uh...tomorrow."

"Yeah," said Hiccup. "I'll see...well, not see..._hear _you tomorrow, too." He offered a sad smile, opened his front door, and then entered the abode. After Toothless walked inside, Hiccup closed it behind himself and his dragon.

Astrid sighed, turned, and walked away, Stormfly trailing behind her.

Hiccup sighed heavily and leaned against his door, running a hand over his face and through his hair. Toothless growled at him and nudged him, and Hiccup ran his other hand over the dragon's scaly head.

"This is going to be tricky, bud, you know that?" Hiccup asked. Toothless cooed in agreement, purring as he nuzzled Hiccup's side. "It might just be as tricky as it was getting used to having a prosthetic," said Hiccup. "If not possibly more so..." His voice trailed off, and he tried to think about something else. But it was hard to do that when he was reminded of it every single time he opened his eyes, or closed his eyes. It didn't make a difference either way. He was blind.

"We'll just have to make it work," said Hiccup. "Adjust to what happened, like we adjusted when I lost a leg. It should be easy." His thoughts betrayed his words. It wouldn't be easy. It wouldn't be easy to adjust. It wouldn't ever get back to normal. Not if this was permanent. Not if he would never see again.

"Come on, Toothless," he said. "Let's go to bed."

Hiccup moved over to the stairwell without much of a problem. He had memorized his house; it was no problem whatsoever. He climbed the stairs and sat down on the edge of his bed. He didn't even remove his riding gear, too lost in thought to care either way.

Why did everything have to be so difficult?

Hiccup sighed and fell backwards, staring up at the ceiling, not knowing exactly what he was looking at. For all he knew, there could have been three Zipplebacks hanging silently from his roof, and he would have never known it. Why was it always him? First his leg, now his vision. What next?

Toothless laid halfway on top of him, purring contentedly. He didn't care if Hiccup was blind, just so long as he wasn't _dead_. Hiccup ran his hand over Toothless' head and then subconsciously touched the still healing gash on his hairline. He winced, not because it hurt, but because he knew what that gash had caused.

"For a treehouse," Hiccup mumbled, mostly to himself. "For a _treehouse_."

He still had a hard time wrapping his mind around it. If only he had moved out of the way. If only he didn't go with Snotlout at all to get that wood. If only...if only...if only...there were about ten "if onlys" Hiccup could think of.

Hiccup was just about to fall asleep, when he felt Toothless climb in the bed with him and wrap himself around his body.

"Toothless, you can't sleep here," Hiccup scowled. But Toothless didn't care. He laid his head on Hiccup's chest and closed his eyes, falling asleep.

"Great," Hiccup mumbled, but he was smiling. "Stubborn, useless reptile..."

Before he knew what was happening, he was asleep.

...

Astrid bumped into Stoick on her way back to her house. The Berkian Chief was heading back to his own home, no doubt wondering how the trip to Gothi's had gone.

"Evening, Astrid," said Stoick. "Where's Hiccup?"

"At your guys' house," said Astrid. "Probably sleeping, more than likely."

"Good, good," said Stoick, almost awkwardly. "Ah...I was going to ask you how it went at Gothi's. Did you learn anything?"

"Um...yeah, actually," said Astrid, wondering how she was going to break it to Stoick and tell him that Hiccup was, quite possibly, going to be blind for the rest of his life. Stoick waited for her to continue, and she did so. "Gothi said that she thinks...she thinks it's permanent."

Stoick sighed. "I was worried that it would be," he said. He recalled seeing the previous head injuries of his villagers, some who had lost their minds or their vision after being hit over the head by some hard object. Seeing them or hearing about them pained him, but it was never like this. Head injuries had never scared him before, but now it was different. Now, it was his only son.

"Stoick," said Astrid, "there is a possibility Hiccup will get his vision back. Gothi didn't say she was absolutely positive about that, you know."

"I understand that," said Stoick. "But still, I am worried."

"Me too, Stoick," said Astrid. "Me too."

Afterwards, they bid each other goodnight and headed in opposite directions.


	9. Chapter 9

**This is my FIRST update today, and let's see if I can get four chapters out. :) My email doesn't like me. *sigh* Shout-outs when I can get it working again. :D Enjoy the chapter! :D **

Hiccup woke up, feeling something pressed up against him.

"_Toothless..._" he grumbled. "Are you still here, seriously?"

Toothless only growled in response, wrapping his wings more firmly around his rider.

"I'm not _dying_, Toothless," Hiccup complained. "Just blind."

Toothless didn't care, though. Hiccup scowled, until he heard his front door open. Toothless still didn't move from his position, and Hiccup felt aggravated all over again.

Footsteps ascended the stairwell, grew louder, and then stopped.

"Hiccup?" said Astrid's voice.

"Over here," Hiccup called.

"Ooookay...what's Toothless doing?" Astrid asked.

"He won't let me get up," Hiccup growled. "Stubborn dragon..."

"He gets it from you, you know," said Astrid.

"Help..." Hiccup pleaded.

"Okay, okay, fine," said Astrid. "Toothless, you need to let Hiccup get up so he can drink this medicine Gothi gave me this morning for him to take." Hiccup paled as Toothless slowly started unfurling his wings.

"On second thought, Toothless, you can stay here as long as you want," said Hiccup. Then, he whispered, "Don't let Astrid get me."

Toothless nodded and curled around him again. Astrid groaned and stomped one of her feet, and Hiccup couldn't help but smile.

"Hiccup Horrendous..." Astrid threatened.

"Fine, fine," said Hiccup. "Okay, Toothless, you have to let me get up."

Toothless scowled as if saying _Make up your mind! _yet complied to what Hiccup had requested. The dragon slunk backwards, sitting up and looking between Astrid and Hiccup. Hiccup sat up and heard the footsteps start again before he felt Astrid sit beside him.

She grabbed one of his hands and forced a cup into it; as soon as she did, Hiccup drank whatever was in it in one swig and handed it back to her. He shivered.

"That tasted _awful,_" he complained. "Where did you get it?"

"Yep, I bet it does taste awful," said Astrid. "And how I got it...we were going to check out the treehouse. We were waiting for you to show up, but you didn't, so I volunteered to come get you. And then I passed Gothi, who told me to give you that medicine. I don't know where she got it..."

"Don't tell me if you find out," Hiccup shuddered. "I don't want to know."

"Well, she told me that one of the main ingredients was dragon saliva," said Astrid.

"EXCUSE ME!?"

"Well, I asked her," said Astrid.

"I wish you wouldn't," said Hiccup.

"Never mind," said Astrid. "Come on, let's go meet up with the others before they decide to go without us."

Hiccup stood, whistled to Toothless, and then headed down the stairwell. He knew his house well; too well, perhaps. Astrid followed him and his dragon down the stairs and out the door.

Hiccup breathed in some of the sweet smelling scent of the outdoors. He sighed. If he weren't blind, maybe he would have enjoyed it all the more. But he _was _blind, so he decided to stop with his wishful thinking.

"Think you can ride Toothless to the Academy?" asked Astrid.

"Yeah, I think so," said Hiccup. "Toothless knows where he's going."

Hiccup mounted his dragon, and Astrid mounted her own, who had been waiting outside the door, and then the two riders took off towards the Berk Dragon Training Academy.

Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs and their dragons were already there. They regarded Astrid and Hiccup with a quick wave as they landed their Nadder and Night Fury in the arena and dismounted.

"Top of the morning," said Hiccup.

"It's actually around nine," said Snotlout. "You overslept."

"Sorry about that," said Hiccup. Nine? Had he really overslept that long?

"Don't worry about it," said Fishlegs. "Injuries can sometimes make people more tired than they usually are. It's not your fault."

"Right," said Hiccup. "So, are we going to go to the cove?"

"You bet we are," said Tuffnut. "I can't _wait _to try out that rope swing!"

They mounted their dragons, and then took off once more. Hiccup trusted Toothless to know where he was going, and the dragon didn't mislead him. They went straight to the cove, and then landed once more.

Astrid looked at the treehouse and grinned. It was sturdy, and even better looking in the morning light. It looked perfect. Astrid just wished that Hiccup was able to see it.

"Okay, Hiccup," said Astrid. "I told you you could be the first to try the rope swing."

"Whoa, hang on," said Hiccup. "I didn't do anything to help build it. You all deserve to go on it first, and then maybe I will."

"But Hiccup..." said Fishlegs, "we _want _you to go first."

"And I want you guys to," said Hiccup. "Go on ahead."

"Are you sure?" said Snotlout.

"Positive," said Hiccup. "I'll just watch you."

"How?" said Tuffnut.

"Um...okay, scratch that," said Hiccup. "Shout whatever you're doing really loud that way it's almost as if I were seeing it."

"Okay," said Astrid. "Snotlout, how about you go first?"

"Uh...okay," said Snotlout hesitantly. He mounted Hookfang, and the dragon flew up to the treehouse. Snotlout jumped off his back and landed on the platform. Then, he reached down and gripped the rope in both hands.

"Narrate everything, Snotlout!" Astrid called to him, cupping her hands around her mouth.

"Okay," said Snotlout. "Um...I am standing, gripping the rope...and right now, I am jumping." His voice broke into a scream. "AAAAAHHHH!" he cried. Then, he released the rope and splashed into the lake.

"And he just fell in the water," said Astrid.

Hiccup laughed. "Great," he said. "Who's up next?"

"I am!" Tuffnut's hand shot up, and he ran up to the treehouse, gripping the rope. "I am gripping the rope, getting ready to fall to my death...will he survive?"

"Skip the drama, Tuff, and jump," said Astrid.

"Okay, I am getting ready to - AAAAAAAAAAAH!" Tuffnut screamed when someone came up from behind him and shoved him off the platform. He let go of the rope slightly early, slamming into the lake below.

"Ha!" Ruffnut shouted. "I just pushed Tuffnut off the platform and into the water!"

"Hilarious!" said Tuffnut. "Again!"

"No, it's my turn," said Astrid.

"And the Great Astrid Hofferson prepares her jump..." said Fishlegs. Astrid rolled her eyes and flew Stormfly to the treehouse. Jumping off the dragon's back, Astrid grabbed hold of the rope and prepared herself.

"Three...two...one...JUMP!" Astrid counted to herself, and then leaped. "Whoo!" she whooped as the rope swung her. She let go and splashed into the water, laughing after she resurfaced.

Hiccup clapped slowly. "Well done," he said. "Fishlegs, you're up."

"And the Graceful Fishlegs Ingerman prepares his dive," said Fishlegs, "he will...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Ruffnut, once again, snuck up behind the person singing and shoved. Only this time, Fishlegs managed to grab her arm and yank her down with him. And so they both splashed into the lake with a whoop and scream.

Hiccup laughed, not because he knew what had happened, but because, regardless of being able to see or not, his friends were having a good time.

And he was happy for that.


	10. Chapter 10

**Four chapters in one day? CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! :D This is my SECOND update today, let's see if I can make it to four (should I try for five maybe?). Enjoy this chapter! :D**

"Okay!" said Hiccup, clapping his hands together once. "Who's up next?"

"You are," said Astrid. "Come on, I'll help you up."

"You sure?" said Hiccup.

"Oh yeah, you bet," said Astrid. "Don't worry, I'll tell you to let go so you don't swing out too far."

"Thanks," said Hiccup. Astrid grabbed his wrist gently and pulled him towards Stormfly. She mounted the dragon and pulled him up beside her. Then, she motioned for the dragon to fly to the platform. Once she did, Astrid grabbed Hiccup's hand again.

"Jump," she said.

"What?" said Hiccup.

"It's okay," said Astrid. "Just jump."

Hiccup looked really worried, yet complied, sliding off Stormfly's back at the exact same time Astrid did. He stumbled when his feet hit the ground, and would have fallen had Astrid not held him up.

"Okay," said Astrid, grabbing the rope and putting it into Hiccup's hands. After he had a firm grip on it, she stepped away slowly. "Okay, now, just jump off the platform. Right now, you're at the very edge. One more step, and you'll fall."

"Okay," said Hiccup. "So I just jump?"

"Yup," said Astrid. "Jump, and I'll tell you when to let go."

"Um...okay," said Hiccup. Astrid could see that he was worried, but she wasn't going to let him back out of it. He had to be confident in his blindness, and so far, this was a step in the right direction.

Then, Astrid watched as he leaped, screaming as he swung through the air.

"Let go riiiiiiight...NOW!" Astrid shouted.

Hiccup let go, screaming as he splashed into the water. Resurfacing, he gasped and made his way to the shore. He laughed.

"That was awesome!" he shouted.

"See?" said Astrid. "Nothing to worry about!" She grabbed the rope and swung down herself, falling into the lake with a splash. "Fun, huh?"

"You bet," said Hiccup. "This was a great idea, guys."

"Yep!" said Tuffnut. "I'm so glad we went through with it!"

They stayed there the rest of the day, just goofing off and fooling around, talking and chatting about new ideas while others whooped and dared each other to perform different stunts on the rope swing. Ruffnut dared Tuffnut to do it with one hand, while Snotlout dared Fishlegs to do a backflip off of it. Fishlegs, who tried and failed, dared Snotlout to go on the swung backwards. Snotlout did so, screaming all the same.

Hiccup and Astrid mostly talked, going a few more times before lying out on the grass beside their dragons, letting their clothes air dry in the sun.

Before long, night had fallen. The youths of the academy decided that it was best to head back to the village before people started getting worried. And so, naturally, that's exactly what they did.

...

Later on that evening, Astrid found Hiccup at his house, fiddling with Toothless' saddle straps, trying (and failing) to put the saddle on his dragon's back.

"Here," Astrid offered. "Let me."

Hiccup jumped at her voice, yet let her help him with the saddle.

"I didn't see you coming," he said. "A little warning next time, please."

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Astrid. "How did the saddle come off in the first place?"

"One of the straps got loose, and so I tried to fix it by myself," Hiccup said, and sighed. "I just made it worse, and before I knew it, the saddle was in my hands. Thanks for helping."

"No problem," said Astrid, not even looking at him. "There," she said, stepping away from the Night Fury after making sure the saddle was on securely. "All done."

"Thanks again, Astrid," said Hiccup. He smiled at her, and she smiled back, until she wondered something she hadn't before.

"Why are you trying to put his saddle on at this time of night?" said Astrid. "Shouldn't you be resting?"

Hiccup shrugged offhandedly. "Probably," he admitted, "but I really wanted to go on an evening flight with Toothless, you know...for old times sake."

Astrid nodded. "I know," she said. Hiccup always loved taking a good, long ride with his dragon at the end of the day; it was relaxing for both Hiccup and Toothless, just being able to enjoy the moment for all it was worth and just take a break. "Do you want me to come with you?" She knew he normally liked it to just be him and Toothless, but she also knew he was blind. Was he scared of being alone with no one besides his dragon?

Hiccup shook his head. "Thanks," he said, "but I think I'll be okay. It's just a little flight."  
>Astrid nodded and smiled. "Well," she said, "I guess I should leave you to it. Don't stay out too late, though. You still do need to rest."<p>

"I know," said Hiccup. "Thanks." He mounted Toothless with surprising ease, and then headed off. Astrid watched until he was out of sight, and then turned and headed back to her own house to get some sleep herself.

Hiccup trusted Toothless to lead the way while he focused on keeping his prosthetic in line with the pedal, switching it only when necessary, since he still couldn't see where they were going. Toothless flew around Berk a few fair times before going and landing in the cove.

Hiccup dismounted for a few seconds, enjoying the peace and coolness of the night air. He was just about to mount Toothless and head back, when something made him pause.

Something was off. He didn't know what it was exactly, but it was there; an odd feeling Hiccup couldn't quite determine. Something was wrong. Something wasn't right.

"Toothless, we have to get out of here," said Hiccup. Just as the words left his mouth, he heard something whizz through the air; a bola. He heard it wrap around something, and then Toothless roared.

"Toothless!" Hiccup shouted, but just as he did so, someone grabbed him from behind, putting their hand over his mouth to keep him silenced. Someone else kept his arms pinned at his side as Hiccup struggled against their grips.

"Here we are at last!" a voice spoke from in front of him. "Hiccup, the great Dragon Conqueror, brought down by me."

Hiccup stood there in shock. He knew that voice.

_Savage? _


	11. Chapter 11

**'dis mah THIRD update today. AH EMAIL WORK WORK WORK! Shout-outs chapter 12, if my e-mail works then. :) I'll try to do either one or two more updates today. Enjoy the chapter, and the cliffhanger! :D **

Although Hiccup couldn't see it, Savage grinned.

"We are going to let you speak," he said, "but if you scream, or yell for help, we kill your dragon."

Hiccup suddenly found the hand away from his mouth, and he gasped.

"Savage," he hissed. "What are you doing on Berk? I thought you were with the Outcasts."

"I was," said Savage. "But then Alvin formed an alliance with you, and I was thoroughly disappointed. I didn't want an alliance. I wanted war, Hiccup, not peace. But no. No one else thought the way I did. They all wanted to make peace with you Berkians." He spat. "Foolish," he said. "So, I left, along with a few Outcasts who wanted to join my cause, and then started a group of my own."

"What do you want?" said Hiccup.

"War," said Savage. "But we are small in numbers as far as people go...but Hiccup...as far as _dragons _go...we are strong. We are _very very very _strong. We just need someone to train them...to prepare them for war."

"And let me guess," said Hiccup. "You want me to do it?"

"Yes," said Savage.

"Me?" said Hiccup. "As inviting as that sounds, I'm going to have to pass."

"Well," said Savage, "I thought you might say that. So that's why I am going to bargain with you."

"Bargain?" Hiccup frowned. "How?"

"I have your dragon," said Savage. "Come willingly, and I'll let him live. And more than that, I won't even capture him. I will leave him here, where he will be safe and sound. And if you don't come willingly...well...I'll _kill _him, and then take you by force. You don't want that, do you, Hiccup?"

Hiccup was torn in two. "No," he said. "I...I'll go willingly."

Savage, once again, grinned without Hiccup knowing. "Good," he said. "Guards, take him to the ship. We don't want this one getting away. I have some business to attend to."

The men gagged Hiccup and dragged him away. And, of course, he had no choice but to follow.

Savage turned back to Toothless, muzzled and bound. The dragon was hissing and snarling, but Savage ignored it. There was nothing the Night Fury could do to hurt him at that point.

Savage took a piece of parchment out of his pocket, along with a charcoal pencil. Then, he wrote a note out to Stoick and the Berkians, creating his own little "bargain" with them.

_Dear Berkians, _he wrote, _this is your new arch enemy speaking. I have captured Hiccup and taken him to an island one hundred miles South of Dragon Island. You have one week to come and surrender to me before I kill him. And there's another thing, too. If you bring any dragons, rider or no, I will also kill your precious heir, no questions asked. Surrender, or look for a new heir. The choice is yours. One week. No dragons. _

_-Your New Enemy_

Satisfied, Savage took a nail out of his pocket and pinned the note to the ground in front of Toothless.

"You have failed your rider," said Savage, leaning dangerously close to the Night Fury. "You have failed yourself. Maybe Stoick will kill you, and just put you our of your misery. Or...then again...maybe he won't." Savage laughed and walked back to the shore, where the boat was docked.

"We're ready to head out, sir!" said one of the soldiers.

"Good," said Savage. "We'll get that little Berkian skum to train our dragons. And if he doesn't...well...I've got something special in store for him."

They moved out, the boat heading towards the island in which Savage and his men had come from.

...

The boat lurched, and Hiccup was thrown across the wooden planks of the ship, landing awkwardly on his side. He resisted the urge to cry out, just because that would be showing weakness to his new enemies.

Hiccup didn't know where the guards had put him, but he figured it was below deck. For some reason, they had felt the need to, not only gag him, but bind his hands behind his back as well. He was a nineteen year old blind boy. What were they expecting him to do?

A thought suddenly occurred to him.

Did they know he was blind?

Probably not. Maybe that was a mix between good and bad. He just didn't know which was which.

Another instant later, Hiccup heard the latch open. Then, someone grabbed him and yanked him out roughly, obviously not caring what they did to him.

"Take him to the arena," said Savage. "None of this prison business. To the training arena, now. We'll start him on a Thunderdrum."

"Thunderdrum!?" Hiccup shrieked, which was hard to do because of his gag.

"Take that thing off him," Savage ordered. "There's nothing he can say now."

One of the soldiers stepped forward, relinquishing Hiccup of his gag. "Where do you get these dragons!?" Hiccup shouted.

"We capture them, obviously," said Savage. "If you don't train them, there will be consequences."

"Oh really?" said Hiccup. "What?"

"We'll make sure you die slowly and painfully," said Savage. "You know, I left a little note for your villagers to find. And once they find it, they'll be scrambling to this island to save your life. And once they surrender to me, I will take down the Outcasts. It will work perfectly."

Hiccup actually laughed. "The Berkians? Surrendering?" he asked. "Never in a thousand years."

"Oh, they will," said Savage, leaning closer to Hiccup's face, staring straight into the boy's piercing, emerald green eyes that seemed to almost glow like a cat's. "You see, I have then in their weak spot."

"Oh really, a weak spot?" said Hiccup. "Would you mind telling me what that is exactly?"

Savage laughed, leaned forward even closer, and spoke one single word that made Hiccup's skin crawl:

"You."


	12. Chapter 12

**FOUR UPDATES OH JOY! NOW SOMEONE BRING ME AN AXE SO I CAN TEACH MY E-MAIL A LESSON! Lol, just joking! **

**Seriously, though, an axe would be nice... **

**My e-mail is STILL giving me problems! :( UGH! WHAT IS LIFE!? WHERE'S MY BISCUIT!? I WANT TO SPEAK TO MY LAWYER (even though I'm still in my early teen years and don't actually _have _one). Enjoy chapter 13! :D I'll try shout-outs tomorrow! (WORK EMAIL WORK!) **

Hiccup was dragged away by some of Savage's soldiers, not knowing where he was going other than the fact that it was an arena somewhere. Savage followed, making sure he didn't try anything funny.

"Once you train the Thunderdrum," said Savage, "we'll continue with some of the trickier breeds of dragon. Like the Whispering Death, perhaps? Or the Changewing? Or even a Timberjack!"

"You're insane," said Hiccup.

"Don't tempt me to gag you again, Hiccup," said Savage.

"Ah," said Hiccup. "I don't care. Gag me if you want. See what good it does."

Savage laughed. "You've got spunk for someone walking into enemy territory," he said. "Bravo, Hiccup. It takes skill for someone in your position to show such bravery."

"Thanks," said Hiccup. "Never thought you were the one to compliment someone."

"That gag has just about got your name all over it," Savage threatened.

"Just go ahead," said Hiccup. "It doesn't matter to me. Do what you want."

Savage didn't gag him, and that was only because they had reached the arena. Savage lead them down a ramp. Hiccup heard hinges turn, and then he was cut free of his bounds and shoved through a gate. He heard it close behind him.

"Train or be killed, Hiccup," said Savage. "I can't wait to see what you do."

Hiccup looked around. Then, he heard a cage door start to swing open slowly. He turned in that direction, and then heard an earsplitting roar.

Thunderdrum.

Why did Savage pick a Thunderdrum?

The dragon advanced on him, and Hiccup jumped to the right. Unfortunately, he bashed into the Thunderdrum. Now, enraged, the Thunderdrum roared and tossed Hiccup off him. Hiccup rolled on the stone floor of the arena and landed on his stomach. He coughed a little bit before regaining his wits, rising to his feet.

"What is he doing?" Savage questioned.

The Thunderdrum attacked again. Hiccup dodged once more, this time the right way. But the Thunderdrum swatted Hiccup with his tail, sending the boy flying until he crashed into the far wall of the arena. Hiccup groaned and forced himself to his feet, cradling his left ribs, which he was certain had broke.

"He's not training it," said Savage. "Then what is he up to?"

The Thunderdrum attacked yet again. Hiccup stumbled to the side, not knowing where the Thunderdrum was coming from. Luckily, he tumbled in the right direction. The Thunderdrum roared and sprang at him again. Hiccup ducked and jumped to the right, but not seeing made it challenging to stay alive.

The Thunderdrum roared and pounced. Hiccup didn't have time to step away. The dragon shoved him to the ground and growled. Hiccup scrambled to his feet (that is to sat foot) and tried running, but he didn't know where he was going. The Thunderdrum was on him again, chasing him, gaining on him, until eventually, he caught him.

The Thunderdrum bit into Hiccup's thigh, and he screamed, trying to wrench himself from the dragon's deadly grip. Once the Thunderdrum had enough, he released Hiccup, leaving the boy to drop to the ground, almost lifeless.

Hiccup tried to get up. He screamed mentally at himself to get up, but his body wasn't cooperating with him. He literally _couldn't _get up. But he couldn't _give up _either. Neither could he _give in_. He was failing everyone on Berk. He was failing his friends, his family, and his entire island. He was failing Toothless. He was failing Astrid. He was failing his Dad. He was failing _himself_.

_Get up get up get up get up get up! _he yelled at himself. No, he wouldn't die here. Not when so many people depended on him. No, he wouldn't die. He wouldn't give up. Dragging himself to his feet, barely resisting the urge to scream as he did so, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third stood and turned face to face with the Thunderdrum.

He couldn't see it, no, but he could hear the sound of its heavy breathing and constant hissing and growling. Hiccup sucked in a sharp intake of breath and then held his hand out to the dragon, turning his head in the opposite direction.

Here he was, surrendering to the dragon. That was what dragon training was; surrendering to the dragon, and then have them come right back and surrender to you. That was how dragons and humans formed their bond. That was how they became friends. Trust, friendship, and submission.

Hiccup swallowed hard, until he felt something warm and scaly press up against his hand. Hiccup shuddered, his eyes flickering open, even though it made no difference whatsoever. He couldn't believe it had actually worked. It had worked. He had trained the Thunderdrum.

Hiccup smiled, but before he could do anything else, he heard slow clapping come from behind him. Savage approached the boy and the dragon, smiling sinisterly.

"And here I thought you were going to die," Savage chuckled, sounding like a choking dragon. "Well done, Dragon Conqueror."

The Thunderdrum growled at Savage, turning to stand beside Hiccup in a defensive manner. The dragon was already ready to protect his new friend, even though they had just met.

"One down, more to go," said Savage. "Bring out the next dragon!"

"NO," Hiccup said.

"What?" said Savage. "No?"

"No, Savage, I won't train another dragon," said Hiccup. The more he thought about it, the more he wished that he had just simply let the Thunderdrum kill him. Now, he was regretting it. Before, he had been afraid that he would die. And now, he knew if he trained more dragons, his entire island would be destroyed.

No, he wouldn't let that happen, as he thought about it more and more and more. If Savage made him train another dragon, he would refuse. The dragon would kill him, Berk would be safe.

"You don't tell me _no_," said Savage. "_No _one tells me no."

"Well, I just did," said Hiccup.

The Thunderdrum growled, ready to pounce. Hiccup heard a distinct sound of metal against metal, and then pain exploded in his lower abdomen. He screamed and sank to the ground, his hands clutching his wound.

"No one tells me no," said Savage. "It won't kill you. Just change your mind about a few things."

Hiccup fell sideways, falling against the Thunderdrum on accident. The dragon didn't resist, however.

But he did attack.


	13. Chapter 13

**SO GUESS WHOSE EMAIL IS WORKING!? THAT'S RIGHT! MIIIIINNNNNEEE! *dances* *crashes into bookshelf* *stands up again* Shout-outs (FINALLY!): **

**silverwolvesarecool: TAKE HIM DOWN, THUNDERDRUM! And to your question about "View To A Skrill What If" (asked in a review to "When Lightning Strikes"), I actually plan to do that fanfiction after this one. I have so many ideas for it, so it won't be as much as a what-if as it will be an actual story. It will be called "View To A Skrill Part 3" (with your suggestion with the "Training Skrill name it Spiritflash" thing, only it will be around twenty chapters long). :) Love the suggestion, and I hope you like it when it comes out. :D **

**Eli Shane4eva: Ya, I'm kinda cwazy. **

**HiccupHaddockIII: Here's your update! *throws chapter***

**Jesusfreak: I will avenge ALL THE SHOUT-OUTS WITH THE AXE AND THEN I WILL AVENGE HICCUP WITH THE SAME AXE! TAKE SAVAGE DOWN, THUNDERDRUM! Oh, and I was wondering what that little streak was...WHOA! *ducks as you fly over my head* I'm hyper without coffee, like, ALL THE TIME! Coffee actually seems to calm me down! Maybe I'm just weird, I dunno. :D**

**AnimeAngel: Thanks for shooting it for me! *takes axe* If it gets messed up again, it will regret it was ever born. Haha. And I don't think it's a problem with my device (laptop) I think it's just a problem with my email. It glitches from time to time, but it is working now! :D Thanks! *eats biscuit* *hands you one***

**Guest: Ahh, the thrill of cliffhangers! *hands you free cup of virtual coffee* Thanks for the review! :D**

**LorreVarguhl: MAD THUNDERDRUM KILL SAVAGE, YEEEESS! **

**TheLastNightFury: Took the words right out of my mouth! :D **

**xFaerieValkyriex: Thank you! :D And we shall find out what Savage did to him...sooooon...Thanks for the review! :D **

**midnightsky0612: Oooh yeah, big trouble. **

**Thanks to all who reviewed in previous chapters, which I cannot do shout-outs for because of my email hishap. Even though you might not get a shout-out, I want you all to know how much your reviews mean to me. Of course, I don't want you guys to feel pressured into doing reviews, but they always make my day. So, even if you don't feel appreciated for your reviews because of lack of shout-outs, know that I love hearing them, and I always smile no matter how big or small it is. You guys make my day. :D FREE VIRTUAL ANYTHING YOU LIKE! *hands it to all you awesome people* **

After hearing the attack between the Thunderdrum and Savage, Hiccup decided to name the Thunderdrum "Revenge."

He heard the Thunderdrum roar, and then Savage screamed. Hiccup was barely aware of anything at that moment except the pain and weakness that was engulfing his being, making him moan and groan in agony.

He suddenly felt himself yanked to his feet, and the fight between Savage and Revenge ended shortly afterwards.

"Throw them both into the dungeon," said Savage. "I've had enough of this."

Hiccup stifled a scream as he was dragged through a gate by a soldier he couldn't see. He heard Revenge struggling and growling, but not breaking free. Then, Hiccup heard a cell door open, and he was tossed inside. He screamed in pain, and then heard something lightweight clatter on the ground beside him. And then, Revenge was also thrown in the same prison cell. Hiccup heard the door slam, and then the guards walking away.

Revenge was growling, until the guards were gone. Then, he moved over to Hiccup and whimpered. Hiccup groaned and tried to move his hand to place it on the dragon's muzzle, but he couldn't take it away from his stomach. He was, in a way, glad he couldn't see it, and in another way, wished that he could.

He felt something nuzzle him, and then it dropped something in front of him. Hiccup opened his eyes, even though he still couldn't see out of them, and tried to find Revenge. The Thunderdrum nuzzled something towards Hiccup, and he finally managed to rip his hand away from his wound long enough to run his hand across the ground in front of him. His hand grazed something made of thick leather, and he grabbed it, feeling around it with one hand, trying to identify it. But before he could, another wave of pain crashed over him, and he _just - just -_ _barely_ stifled a scream.

Nevertheless, it was enough to get Revenge's attention. Hiccup felt the Thunderdrum wrap around him, and at first, he tried to protest, since it only hurt him, but then he complied, thankful for the dragon, and for the fact that at least he had one friend on that accursed island.

Where was he? He didn't even know. That was one of the many disadvantages of being blind. If someone kidnapped you, you had no idea where you were.

Hiccup knew he was dying; he could feel blood running over his hands as he placed them on the burning wound Savage had created. Revenge must have known it, too, because he draped a wing over Hiccup, trying to shield him, as if he could somehow block death out.

Minutes passed. Or was it hours? Hiccup couldn't tell. He wasn't keeping count, and even if he had been, he still wouldn't have been able to keep on it. His mind felt scrambled; he was unable to piece together anything.

Then, the cell door opened, but it wasn't opened in triumph or haste. It was opened tentatively, as if whoever was entering was trying to do it in secret, without being found out.

The door was closed again, and footsteps welcomed Hiccup's ears...or were they skipping? Running? Jogging? Walking? He couldn't even tell by the sound of the footsteps. It all felt distant, and of course, he couldn't see.

He heard Revenge growl softly, and then a voice whispering "Shhh, no one knows I'm here."

"Who...s...here?" Hiccup's voice cracked as he spoke.

"My name is Elanor," said a female voice. Hiccup was a little bit shocked. It wasn't just a female voice. It sounded like the voice of a young girl, quite possibly around his own age of nineteen. "Don't worry, I'm here to help you."

"It's...okay, Revenge..." Hiccup tried to reason with the dragon. If this girl was really coming to help him, he really needed her to do so.

Slowly but surely, the Thunderdrum complied, carefully unfolding his wings. Hiccup tried to sit up, but just ended up falling backwards sharply against Revenge.

He heard Elanor gasp.

"Oh gosh..." she muttered.

"Thanks for the encouragement," Hiccup meant for it to come out snappy, but it came out as a pained whimper. "I thought it was bad."

He heard the girl kneel down next to him, and then grab the leather whatever-it-was he had dropped.

"Why didn't you wrap it before this?" Elanor asked.

"How could I do that?" Hiccup asked.

"Savage gave you a satchel," said Elanor. "He doesn't want you dead. If he did, you would already be in your grave."

"I didn't know he gave me a satchel," said Hiccup. "Sorry, I'm blind."

"Blind?" Elanor frowned. "Does Savage know?"

Hiccup laughed. "I sure hope not," he said. "I don't want him to think I'm weak." His laugh turned into a pained moan when Elanor started wrapping his stomach.

"Savage doesn't want to kill you," she said. "This isn't a deep wound. You didn't lose too much blood, but it still doesn't look happy."

"Savage doesn't know you're here, does he?" Hiccup asked.

"Oh gosh no!" Elanor said. "You know how much trouble you and I would be in if he found out about this? Do you?"

"No, but I could imagine," said Hiccup. "Um...could you describe yourself to me? I mean...I can't see you...so..."

"Okay," said Elanor. "Um...I have long black hair, it's not really cut evenly. I cut it myself, you know, with a dagger, so I suppose it has that effect. Um...some people tell me I have a pale complexion, my eyes are green, and I hold a bit of a temper."

"Okay," said Hiccup. "Yeah, I can picture that."

"Well good," said Elanor. "Now, return to sender and tell me your name."

"My name is Hiccup," said Hiccup. "I live on Berk, ride a Night Fury named Toothless...Savage calls me the 'Dragon Conqueror'...most people I meet hate me, too, so...yeah." He shrugged. "What else is new?"

Elanor didn't laugh, and Hiccup wasn't exactly trying for one.

"I think you cracked a rib or two," said Elanor.

"I figured just as much," Hiccup scowled. "I was completely idiotic..."

"Don't blame yourself," said Elanor. "Savage is to blame. If I had my way, I would pick a new leader for our little group. I am against the way he leads."

"Then why do you stick around?" said Hiccup. "Savage told me that you are all for him."

"Well, I don't exactly have a choice," said Elanor. "Savage is my father."


	14. Chapter 14

**'Twas the day of my posting, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, NOT EVEN MY EMAIL LIKE START WORKING AGAIN EMAIL! UGH! And it was at that moment I heard such a clatter, I sprang from the computer chair to see what was the matter. And what to my wondering eyes would appear, but all my reviewers with their weapons ready to help me conquer my email. Sorry, I'm bad at poetry. **

**Roses are red...Revenge is blue...Hiccup is captured, locked in prison, too. Everyone is terrified, characters old and new...Will Hiccup be rescued by the Dragon Riding Crew? **

**Sorry, that was random. WORK EMAIL WORK! UGH! As soon as it starts working, SHOUT-OUTS FOR DA WIN! :D Enjoy the chapter!**

"Of course I didn't have a choice," said Elanor. "Could I really go against my father?"

"No, I suppose not," said Hiccup. He was still trying to wrap his brain around the fact that Elanor, whose father was out to make Hiccup suffer, had come to Hiccup's aid when he needed help. "So what is his deal?"

"Pardon?" said Elanor.

"What's his big deal with warfare and stuff?" said Hiccup. "I mean, he wants war, and killing me is enough to make war with the Berkians, and yet he hesitates. He doesn't want to kill me, you said so yourself. Then what does he want me for? He told me he wanted war...so why not kill me, and make it easy?"

Elanor sighed and leaned back. "He doesn't really want war," she said. "He says he does, but he doesn't. He wants war where no one else has a chance of beating him. He told me that his plan for you is get you to train all his dragons, and then the Berkians will come and save you, he will threaten to kill you unless they surrender, and once they do, he will keep going, traveling to every island known to us, pillaging, until finally, he gets what he wants."

"What does he want?" said Hiccup.  
>"Domination," said Elanor. "Domination over every single thing that lives and breathes, be it dragons, or humans. He wants it all, Hiccup. And he's starting with Berk."<p>

"I have one thing to say," said Hiccup.

"What?"

"We're doomed."

Elanor actually laughed. "And you get mad at _me _for not speaking encouraging words," she said. "And we don't have to be doomed. I'll help you, see. Savage is a lunatic, but he won't kill his own daughter."

"Yeah," said Hiccup. "I would hope he wouldn't."

"He wouldn't," said Elanor. "He _couldn't_. Now, listen, I have to go, or else people will start getting suspicious, and come looking for me. Savage is coming to get you in the morning. Try to take it easy on your ribs."

"I'll try," said Hiccup. "I don't know how well it will work out, though."

"Okay," said Elanor. "I'll help you, remember, as much as I can."

"Thanks, Elanor," said Hiccup. "I would be dead if it weren't for you."

"I know," said Elanor. "And you're welcome." She stood and left the prison, shutting the door behind her. Hiccup leaned back against Revenge, thinking it over. Maybe he now had _two_ friends on this accursed island.

...

The youths of the academy waited for Hiccup at said location. Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut stood side by side with their dragons as they waited for their leader to get there.

"Huh," said Fishlegs. "I wonder where he is."

"He could have overslept again," said Astrid. "It wouldn't surprise me." She laughed and shook her head. "That boy, I tell you...well, I guess I should go get him up, huh?"

"Yeah," said Snotlout. "Probably."

Just before Astrid left, Stoick arrived on Skullcrusher.

"Has anyone seen Hiccup?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" said Astrid.

"He's not at the house?" Fishlegs questioned.

Stoick shook his head. "He didn't show up last night either," he said. "I thought he could have been with you guys this morning, but I guess I was wrong."

"What could have happened?" said Astrid.

"Astrid, he's _Hiccup_," said Tuffnut. "_Anything _could have happened."

Everyone shot him a glare.

"What?" said Tuffnut. "You're not denying it."

"Where should we look?" said Snotlout.

"He went on a flight with Toothless yesterday night," said Astrid. "That was the last time I saw him."

"We have to look for him," said Stoick.

"Right, Chief," said Ruffnut.

"We should start at the cove," said Astrid. "That's where Hiccup normally goes. He's blind, too...maybe he crashed...? Is that a possibility?"

"Anything's a possibility," said Stoick. "We should start looking, though."

They nodded, mounted their dragons, and took off without another word. The first place they looked, of course, was the cove. And that was the first place they had luck.

"Toothless!" they shouted, almost in perfect unison. The dragons landed in front of the Night Fury. Toothless made no move of recognition, and it was then that the riders realized that he _couldn't _make a move at all.

As soon as the dragons touched down, they ran over to the Night Fury. Astrid whipped out her axe and sliced through the ropes that bound him while Snotlout and Fishlegs took to taking off the muzzle. As soon as Toothless was free, he growled.

"What happened, Toothless?" said Astrid. "Where's Hiccup?"

Toothless ran circles around he cove, roaring and sniffing in different bouts. He wailed when he found nothing, and then flopped backwards, landing on he ground with a _THUMP_.

It was then that Astrid noticed the note nailed to the ground. She picked it up and studied it.

"What's this?" she questioned out loud. Everyone turned to her, and she looked at then with worry, asking silently if they wanted to hear it. They nodded in unison almost instantly, and she read the note to them out loud:

"'_Dear Berkians,'" _she read, "'_this is your new arch enemy speaking. I have captured Hiccup and taken him to an island one hundred miles South of Dragon Island. You have one week to come and surrender to me before I kill him. And there's another thing, too. If you bring any dragons, rider or no, I will also kill your precious heir, no questions asked. Surrender, or look for a new heir. The choice is yours. One week. No dragons. _

_-Your New Enemy'"_

"What does that mean?" said Tuffnut.

"It means war," said Stoick. "I'm calling a meeting at the Great Hall, right now. This is war. That's what it is." He turned, mounted Skullcrusher, and then headed back to the village. Astrid and the others followed him. They would find the person who ever dared to take Hiccup from them. And then, Astrid, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Fishlegs would make them pay.

Toothless ran back to the village, following the others and their dragons from below. He would find his rider.

_He would find Hiccup_.


	15. Chapter 15

**Ennie-mennie-miney-moe, catch my email by the toe. If it hollers "Let me go!", slap it in the face and shout "NO!" MY EMAIL IS ACTUALLY WORKING AGAIN I THINK I FIXED IT! YAY! Shout-outs: **

**WRMWereWolf6: In answer to your question, no, Toothless is not the alpha dragon. This takes place before HTTYD2. :) **

**Edlover23: Yes someone save them! **

**Silver Electricity: FOR DA SPARTA AND DA NARNIA FOR DA WIN! **

**HiccupHaddockIII: Aha, so the poem was good! That's good! :D Thanks for the awesome review! :D **

**xFaerieValkyriex: I FIXED MY EMAIL FINALLY I DON'T THINK IT WILL GIVE ME ISSUES EVER AGAIN! And if it does...DESTROY IT. (Haha)**

**Jesusfreak: WAIT A MINUTE JESUSFREAK YOU JUST CALLED IT! I WAS GOING TO DO THAT ALREADY BEFORE YOU EVEN MENTIONED IT! AAAAAH! (Great minds think alike!) **

After the villagers were gathered at the Great Hall, Astrid decided something silently. She beckoned Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut to follow her out, and they did so, just as the doors swung shut and the meeting began.

"We're missing it," said Tuffnut. "What's this about?"

"We're going to find Hiccup without the others," said Astrid.

"WHAT!?" Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs and Snotlout shouted in unison.

"But we need them to help us!" said Snotlout.

"No we don't," said Astrid. "A smaller group could possibly do better than a large one. Besides, it will take a while before the ships are ready to sail out. No, we have to take a ship of our own, and go out on our own. It's the right thing to do." She glanced at Toothless, sitting at the dock, roaring and whimpering at the area ahead of him in sorrow.

"I can't disagree," said Snotlout. "Plus, it'll be dangerous. And who doesn't like dangerous, huh?"

"I agree with you completely," said Tuffnut.

"Whatever," said Astrid. "We have to go, and no dragons, remember. The note said so. An island that is one hundred miles South of Dragon Island. That's where Hiccup is. That's where we have to go."

"How would you reckon we do it?" said Tuffnut.

"We nab one of the faster boats, and take it there," said Astrid. "But we have to go now, before the meeting breaks. When it does, we'll _never _leave."

They worked in earnest, searching for a boat that would meet their need. They found a slow but fast one that didn't require too many passengers to make it run properly. They boarded, and then got ready to head off, telling all the dragons not to follow them.

The hardest part was Toothless. He kept trying to sneak on the ship, failing each time when one of them found him out.

"We'll bring Hiccup back, Toothless," said Astrid. "I promise. But if you come with us, our new enemy will kill him." Who was this "new enemy"? She didn't know, nor did she think it was too important at that time.

Toothless was anything but thrilled, but he knew he didn't have a choice. He curled into himself at the dock and whined pitifully.

"We'll be back before you know it, Toothless," said Astrid. "I promise."

Then, they headed off.

...

It was official: Hiccup hated Smokebreaths. The Smokebreath growled and roared in fury at the young Dragon Trainer, and he dodged each and every blow, just barely keeping himself alive. His ribs screamed in protest, but he knew he couldn't stop moving. Savage had threatened to kill Revenge if he didn't train the Smokebreath.

Perfect.

Sarcasm.

Obviously.

Hiccup dodged as the Smokebreath attacked. Hiccup didn't know where to jump, but he could guess, and he thought he was pretty good at it, too. The Smokebreath didn't seem too happy, though. It roared and charged once again.

Hiccup couldn't help but think about how sick and twisted Savage and his men seemed. Elanor was the only person, so far, who seemed to actually care. And she was just a girl. Were there other people like herself, who actually thought about someone besides themselves?

Hiccup hoped there were, but he doubted it all the same.

The Smokebreath attacked again, and this time, Hiccup dodged in the wrong direction. The Smokebreath came in on top of him, growling and snarling. Hiccup tried to escape the creature's claws, but to no avail. It slashed one across his face, leaving three fine read lines, blood pulsing out each one.

"What are you waiting for!?" Savage shouted. "Train the beast!"

Hiccup couldn't move, though. He was paralysed with pain and terror as he stared straight into the Smokebreath's eyes. Just before the Smokebreath ended his life, Savage ran into the arena.

Hiccup wasn't supposed to be killed; that wasn't part of Savage's plan. Of course, eventually, yes, Savage would kill him, but not yet. He needed to know why the boy wasn't training his dragons.

He grabbed the Smokebreath, and then kicked it to the far side of the arena. The dragon shrieked, but wasn't able to attack. Three soldiers raced over and grabbed it, pinning it down quickly before hauling it back to its cage. Once it was locked up, Savage refocused his attention on Hiccup.

Hiccup heard that metal against metal sound again, but nothing came of it.

"Why aren't you training them?" said Savage. "Do you _want _me to kill you?"

"I'm blind," Hiccup said before he could change his mind. Really, here, he was already completely under Savage's command. As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it. They had just spilled out of his lips, and he couldn't take them back.

Something made contact with Hiccup's side, and he screamed.

"Blind," Savage sneered. "Blind. The Great Dragon Conqueror blind." He laughed. Pain spread through Hiccup's other side, and he cried out once more. "I will give you one more chance to train them tomorrow," said Savage, "and then after that, I will kill you."

He raised his sword, about to strike Hiccup, not with a blow that would kill him, but with a blow that was certain to make him have more respect for Savage, when Elanor jumped in between him and Hiccup, knocking the weapon out of Savage's hand with her own.

The sword flew across the arena and clattered onto the stone floor. Savage stared at the weapon before turning to his daughter in shock. The girl was absolutely enraged, holding her weapon out in front of her threateningly.

"Elanor, step aside," said Savage.

"No," said Elanor. "No, I will not step aside and let you hurt Hiccup again. I will not watch you make ruin of this place, do you have any idea what you are doing? The Berkians will come. They will come for Hiccup, and they'll be ready. We won't. We won't be ready, we won't be able to defend ourselves. Stop here, Father. Maybe we could make the Berkians our allies instead of our slaves."

"I don't want allies!" said Savage. "I want war!"

"This isn't the way, Father!" Elanor screamed. "This isn't the way things are meant to be!"

"Yes it is!" said Savage. "Step aside and let me finish what I've started."

"NO!" said Elanor. "No, I won't! I will NOT! No, I won't let you finish it! I won't let you hurt him!"

"Listen to yourself!" said Savage. "You've sided with the Berkians...anyone who sides with them, is no daughter of mine."

"I don't care," Elanor said, but her voice cracked, and Hiccup knew she was fighting back tears. "I don't care."

"Guards!" Savage yelled. Before Elanor or Hiccup could react, Elanor's sword was wrenched from her grip, and soldiers were pinning her arms at her sides. "Throw her in the dungeon."

"NO!" Elanor shouted. The guards paid her no heed, dragging her away. "NO!" She struggled against them, but wasn't strong enough to do any good. Once her screaming died out, and Hiccup knew she was gone, Savage yanked him to his feet.

"Take him there, too," said Savage. The guards came back and then dragged Hiccup, half-conscious, away as well.


	16. Chapter 16

**MY EMAIL STILL WORKS YAY! Just so you all know, there will NOT be a romantic affair between Elanor and Hiccup. They are friends. That's it. Hiccstrid is still my OTP. :) Shout-outs: **

**AnimeAngel: Aquaria might see you as a taco...I laughed longer at that then I should have. HAHA! :D **

**Edlover23: Oh yeah, totally. BERK GET HERE SOON! **

**silverwolvesarecool: Yes, I love Elanor! :D **

** .fandoms: Elanor is NOT a love interest for Hiccup. Hiccstrid is my OTP. :D **

**Wanli8970: Awesome how you're in Peter Pan! :D I have a question about Seaworthy, when I start writing that one in a few weeks...how should Flara react to seeing Hiccup for the first time? Should Hiccup be slightly injured (broken leg, maybe?). **

**midnightsky0612: Yeah, I'm kind of evil to these poor characters. **

**HiccupHaddockIII: Thanks for the review! :D And yes, Elanor, GO! Elanor, Elanor, Oi oi oi! :D **

Astrid and the others reached Dragon Island a little bit later. Once they did, though, they reset a course for one hundred miles South of Dragon Island. They started, and they didn't stop. They continued on and on. Of course, they couldn't stop.

They had a friend to save.

...

"_Hiccup..." _

A voice, calling his name.

"_Hiccup...?" _

Growing more frantic by the second.

"_Hiccup...open your eyes..." _

Open his eyes? Hiccup could have laughed. He was blind. Opening his eyes wouldn't make a difference.

"_Hiccup!" _

He felt like he should have done something, but his body wasn't cooperating. He couldn't move, even if he tried.

"_Don't be dead!" _

That voice was really starting to get on his nerves.

"_Be dead and I'll kill you!" _

Now it was demanding, telling him to do something.

"_Please just open your eyes, Hiccup...please..." _

There were tears behind the voice. The speaker was crying. _Crying_. Elanor...she was the speaker.

Hiccup woke up, and realized he must have passed out, because he didn't remember falling asleep. He felt something wrapped tightly around his stomach, and could only guess they were bandages.

He didn't know for how long he was out, and he decided not to guess, either. There was no way he could have done so and received an accurate result.

He wasn't laying on the floor, because whatever was underneath him wasn't hard. It was then that he realized he was laying in Elanor's arms, even though he couldn't see it.  
>Elanor smiled as soon as Hiccup opened his eyes. Of course, he couldn't see out of them, but at least she knew that he was alive.<p>

"Listen to me, Hiccup," said Elanor. "I just met you, but if you scare me like that again, so help me...I will...well, I don't know what yet, exactly..."

Hiccup smiled and tried to sit up, but instantly winced and hissed through his teeth. Elanor helped him, and then leaned him up against the wall.

"You can't get up yet by yourself, Hiccup," said Elanor. "Your body isn't strong enough."

"Just tell me what happened, please?" he asked. "I can't see anything."

"Okay," said Elanor. "You were unconscious for about an hour. Savage didn't do much else to you, but he did enough to make me angry. You bruised another rib, in case you are wondering." There were still tears behind her voice, but Hiccup didn't know why. It always pained him to know someone was crying. He always felt the need to do something to help them.

"What happened, Elanor?" said Hiccup. "What's wrong?"

"He...he disowned me," said Elanor, and saying it made it feel more real. "I didn't...I didn't hate him, I still loved him...b-but now...he d-doesn't want me."

"Well, then he's a lunatic," said Hiccup. He felt the need to say more. How _dare _Savage disown his daughter? Hiccup knew what it felt like, being disowned, especially if it was by someone you loved. He felt a rage towards Savage that he hadn't known towards anyone else ever since Alvin and Dagur.

He didn't quite fully remember Elanor pulling him into a hug; he did, however, remember reacting to it. He hugged her back, trying to think of something to say; something to do, but he was drawn on a blank.

He thought about his friends on Berk, and tried not to dwell on his anger and hatred towards Savage. He tried to do something to comfort Elanor, but he just didn't know what to do, exactly. He tried to say something, and then just ended up stopping before even beginning.

"He's going to come back for you, you know," said Elanor, pulling away carefully, her voice thick. She wiped her eyes and looked into Hiccup's unfocused emerald eyes. "_Us_, more like...and if you don't train the dragons...he'll kill you."

"I know," said Hiccup. "Maybe I'll let him."

"Hiccup!" Elanor shrieked and jumped away just slightly. Revenge growled, almost as if he knew what Hiccup was proposing. Well, actually, he did. He had heard others say stuff such as that in the past.

"What are you thinking!?" shouted Elanor.

"If I train them, Savage will conquer every single village and people group known to us," said Hiccup. "And...if that happens...I'll live with the guilt knowing it was my fault. I can't train them, Elanor, so I guess...I guess...I guess Savage will kill me."

Revenge nudged Hiccup from behind, and Hiccup offered a sad smile, patting the dragon on the head lightly before trying to look Elanor in the eyes without actually seeing her. He must have failed, because Elanor lifted his chin and turned his head ever so slightly so he was "looking" in her direction.

"I'm sorry," said Elanor. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," said Hiccup. "So when do you think Savage is going to come back?"

"I don't know," said Elanor.

As soon as the words left her mouth, the cell door opened, and a soldier stepped inside. Revenge growled, but didn't attack, only because Elanor and Hiccup weren't letting him.

"All three of you, get out," the soldier ordered. Wait...it wasn't a soldier. This was Savage himself. "Today is the day, Dragon Conqueror. You will live, or you will die. Your choice."

Elanor helped Hiccup stand up, trying not to look at her father, and then lead him out. Revenge followed, just barely resisting the urge to kill Savage then and there, no questions asked.

When they made it back to the arena, they were shut in once again. Hiccup thanked Elanor and stood by himself. His legs wobbled and shook, but not too dangerously. His ribs and other wounds screamed in protest, but he wasn't going to look weak in front of Savage.

Or, _more weaker _in front of Savage, that was.

"Ready," Hiccup called, his voice betraying no emotion whatsoever.

"Very well," said Savage. "Release the Changewing!"

A Changewing.

Of course it was a Changewing.


	17. Chapter 17

**SHOUT-OUTS NEXT CHAPTER! PROMISE! *takes weapons all you guys gave me and starts attacking email* **

"There, up ahead!" Snotlout shouted.

The others looked, and nearly cried with relief. They had been sailing and sailing for hours upon hours, trying to find the island Hiccup was on, finding nothing each time. And now, _FINALLY_, after all this time, they had finally caught sight of the island.

It was terrible looking. It was mostly flat with some dead trees sticking out of rocky, stony ground that just barely carried enough soil to keep the roots of the plant in the ground. Sharp rocks stuck out at different places. If you were to fall on one, it would kill you almost instantly.

"Wow..." Snotlout breathed. "This place could really use a clean up."

Astrid found herself agreeing wholeheartedly.

"Come on," she said. "Let's see if we can't find Hiccup."

"And find out who out 'new enemy' is," said Tuffnut.

For once, he didn't sound excited.

They moored the boat on the sand and waited, listening, making sure it was clear.

"Nothing," said Astrid. "Come on, guys, we have to go."

They started searching buildings.

...

The Changewing growled and advanced. Behind them, Revenge snarled and wrapped his tail around Elanor and Hiccup's legs defensively. Hiccup reached for a dagger he didn't have, mentally screaming at himself for not having it. Not that he would use it. It would just make him feel more secure.

The Changewing hesitated, but just for a second, before it crouched down and pounced all at once.

"Go, go, go!" Elanor shouted, grabbing Hiccup's wrist and yanking him harshly to the left. The Changewing roared in fury and charged again.

"LEFT!" Elanor shouted. "GO LEFT!"

Hiccup jumped to the direction she called just as the Changewing spat acid. Hiccup could feel the heat of the burning liquid rush through the air. He had missed it. If just barely.

Revenge roared and attacked the Changewing. Both dragons were enraged, roaring and snarling and snapping and biting each other at different bouts, each one more violent than the last.

"What's going on!?" Hiccup shouted. "You know I can't see!"

"The Thunderdrum you called Revenge is fighting the Changewing," said Elanor. "For the sake of it, let's just call the Changewing Gumshoe."

"Great," said Hiccup. "Sounds great, really it does."

Revenge and the Changewing fought each other, until the Changewing gave up. Revenge grabbed it in his teeth and threw the dragon up against the wall. Gumshoe stood up, shaking, growling, whimpering, and wavering until it finally collapsed.

Elanor took a step back, still holding onto Hiccup's wrist. "Revenge...killed it," she said. "He killed it."

Hiccup felt sick to his stomach and swallowed. The Changewing was dead. But where did that leave Elanor and Hiccup and Revenge?

"YOU KILLED THE CHANGEWING!" Savage screamed. "YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT WAS TO CATCH THAT THING!? SOMEONE BRING ME A BOW AND ARROW!"

Elanor watched in terror as one of the soldiers handed him what he asked for. Savage notched the arrow in his bow, and pulled back. Just before he fired it, Elanor realized what kind of arrow it was. It was a special Arrow Savage had created. Poison was caked on the arrowhead; fast moving poison that killed almost instantly.

"NO!" Elanor screamed, just as Savage aimed the arrow at Hiccup and fired. She pushed him out of the way, making herself the target. An instant later, the arrow hit her shoulder.

She groaned and collapsed. Hiccup didn't know what had happened, but he had a good idea. He stumbled to his feet and tried to find Elanor. Once he did, he searched for her hand, grabbed it, and held it.

"What did you do?" he asked.

"Saved your life," Elanor whispered. "At...at the cost...of my own."

"Elanor, no," said Hiccup. "You won't die. You won't...don't...die...Elanor..."

"Promise me you'll escape," said Elanor. "Promise me that much, and I will be content."

"Elanor..." said Hiccup.

"Do it," said Elanor.

"Okay, I promise, I will escape...and you will too," said Hiccup. "You won't die. You'll escape, with me."

"I know I will escape," said Elanor. "But not with you...not yet."

"Elanor, don't..." Hiccup started.

"I'm sorry, Hiccup," said Elanor. Then, she breathed her last, her eyes shutting.

"Elanor...?" Hiccup tried. "Elanor, stop...Elanor...Elanor, please..." No response. "ELANOR!" Hiccup yelled.

He didn't register Savage running into the arena and grabbing him. He didn't register Revenge being tied and captured. He didn't register being dragged into a separate room.

Elanor was dead.

Because of him.

"You...!" Savage snarled. "You killed my daughter!"

Hiccup didn't reply.

"I was going to give you a quick death," said Savage, "so that way you didn't have to suffer and think about everyone you failed...but now...I think I will do just that. You failed in training the Changewing. You are no use to be, Hiccup the Useless. Now, true to my word, you will die." Hiccup heard something squeak, and then he was tossed into a box-like structure. Only, it was made of glass.

Hiccup stood up and flattened his palms against the smooth surface. Then, he moved them above him. Glass. He was in a glass enclosure, with no way out. Revenge was put in another cage built into the wall. He roared at Hiccup, trying to get to him, but to no avail. He was captured.

And so was Hiccup.

Hiccup suddenly felt something wet hit his foot. He looked down, wishing once more that he could see. But he didn't need to see to know what it was. Water was filling in the enclosure. They were going to drown him alive.

For just one moment, that didn't matter to Hiccup.

Elanor was dead.

And it was his fault.

**Whoa, okay, tell me: Who was expecting THAT? No one? I actually teared up a bit. I don't normally like killing my OCs, but...but...OH WHY COULD I DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS!? **


	18. Chapter 18

**Scream, little email, start to cry, because when you don't work you are going to _die_. Shout-outs next time it works! Ugh, it's making me so mad! :( ANGRY EYES! AGH! **

**On that note, enjoy the chapter! :D **

And then that moment ended.

Hiccup beat his fists up against the glass enclosure, trying to break his way out. He tried to scream; shout; yell; anything, but the glass was too thick. No one would be able to hear him. He couldn't hear anything, either. All he could hear was the sounds of the water sloshing against the sides of the glass cage as it sealed him in.

...

Astrid and the Berkians went from building to building, searching for any sign of Hiccup, until they came to one in particular. It was built like a dungeon, only larger. She opened the door, and motioned for the others to follow her.

Astrid and the others ran through the door, and shrieked unceremoniously. There was Hiccup, beating his hands against the glass. She charged over, followed by her friends. She raced up to the enclosure and flattened her palms against the smooth, too thick glass.

"Hiccup!" she shouted. "Can you hear me!?"

It was obvious he couldn't. He looked like he was shouting something, and she couldn't hear him. What made her think that he could hear her? She felt powerless. There was no way she could tell Hiccup that it was her. He was blind, not only that, but he couldn't hear her from inside the enclosure. The enclosure...that was rapidly filling with water.

Astrid hadn't realized it before. She yelped when she did, and then searched for something she could use to smash the glass with. She grabbed her axe, and started hacking at it, but not even the axe broke through.

Hiccup threw his weight up against the glass wall, trying to burst it. He couldn't see, but he could feel the water level climbing. It was up to his shins now. He yelled Astrid's name, hoping somewhere he could hear her.

Astrid slammed up against it with her entire body, and then continued whacking it with her axe. She looked at the others.

"WELL!?" she said. "Are you going to help me, or just stand there!?"

They instantly got to work. Fishlegs went looking at the bolts to see if any were removable while the others set to bashing their bodies against the tank. Hiccup didn't know what in the world was going on. He couldn't even see. The only thing he knew was that he was about to drown. The water was up to his chest now, and rising.

The water was strange when Astrid looked at it between bashing up against the wall with her body. It was murky and foggy, impossible to see through. It was rising faster and faster with every passing moment. They didn't have enough time.

Hiccup flattened his palms against the glass, giving up. Another five seconds, and the water would be over his head. He closed his eyes (not that it made a difference) and then waited. He thought about Elanor. He had failed her. He thought about the Berkians. He had failed them. He thought about Revenge. He had failed him as well. He thought about all his friends, all his family, and everyone else that he cared about. He had failed them all. Savage was right to call him Useless. Maybe he was really useless. Hiccup the Useless. Maybe that was all he was.

Astrid looked at Hiccup. He wasn't fighting anymore. He had shut his eyes, giving up.

"HICCUP!" Astrid screamed at him, not that he could hear her. Then, the water went over his head.

Panic. Astrid had never known true panic until that very moment. She and her friends all felt it at the same time, because they each started smashing against the walls harder than before, trying to break through the glass.

Twenty seconds passed.

And then...

_CRACK_. The sound was like music to Astrid's ears. At least the glass wasn't impenetrable. She threw herself up against it again. She could feel a bruise forming on her shoulder, not that she cared. Not when the life of her near best friend was in jeopardy. She slammed her body up against the glass enclosure once more, and then whacked it with her axe.

Another twenty seconds passed.

Another _CRACK_, followed by another in a rapid session. _CRACK, _thud, thud, thud... _CRACK, _thud, thud, thud..._CRACK..._and then.

_CRASH. _Water gushed through the large hole made by none other than Astrid's axe. She hacked a few more times, and then the glass gave away, the structure shattering entirely. Hiccup tumbled out, gasping and choking on what air he was getting. One second he couldn't breathe, and the next second he was breathing again.

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted. She couldn't believe they had actually found him. She ran over to him and grabbed his arms, holding him steady while he coughed miserably. Eventually, it ebbed away until it was nothing.

"Astrid?" Hiccup asked.

"You _better believe _it's Astrid," said Astrid. "We've come to get you out of here. We're taking you back to Berk, right now."

"She's dead," Hiccup whimpered, because it was the only thing on his mind. Elanor was dead. Elanor was dead. Elanor was dead, dead, dead, and it was his fault, fault, fault. His own...fault.

"Who's dead?" said Astrid, wondering what Hiccup was talking about. Who was "she"? She had seen a glimpse of bandages underneath his shirt...what was that from?

"It doesn't..." He paused to cough, "it doesn't matter, Astrid..."

"Yes it does," said Astrid. "Yes, it _does _matter, Hiccup, it matters more than you know. Who hurt you?"

"Sav...Savage," said Hiccup. "The...the Ex-Outcast."

"Savage?" said Fishlegs.

"Savage?" the others said in unison.

Hiccup nodded. "Savage," he said. "His daughter...Elanor, she...she saved me...and...died in the process. She kept me alive, Astrid. Savage hurt me, Elanor saved me. But...she's gone." He buried his head in his hands. "I didn't even know what she truly looked like," he said. "She described herself to me, but it...it wasn't the same, and..." He broke down into a sobbing fit.

Astrid didn't know what to do, so she just settled for sitting at his side, trying to comfort him with soothing nothings and one not.

Then, they heard a growl. They turned around in unison and looked at Revenge, trying to break out of the cage.

"Hiccup...?" said Astrid.

"Yeah, that's Revenge," said Hiccup. "I trained him."

"Yeah, you did," said Astrid. "But that's not...Revenge, as you called him."

"What...?" Hiccup asked.

"Hiccup...that's..." said Fishlegs. "That's Thornado."


	19. Chapter 19

**OKAY OKAY SO GUESS WHAT!? **

**I was having a wonderful day, writing my fanfictions, when all of a sudden... **

**I LEARNED THAT THEY MOVED THE RELEASE DATE OF HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 3 FROM 2017 TO 2018! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!? WHAT ARE THEY DOING!? SOMEONE SAVE MEEEEEEEE! AAAAAHAHHHHHH! (IT'S LEGIT! I LOOKED IT UP ON WIKIPEDIA!) **

**Oh, on that "happy" (sarcasm) note, my email is working again. Shout-outs: **

**AnimeAngel: Aha, I like that theory! Savage and Evil Email are working together to drive us all up the walls. :) **

**destiny draco: ME TOO! HE'S AWESOME! :D **

**TheLastNightFury: PLOT THINGY! I DID A PLOT THINGY! :D**

**Silver Electricity: Cliffhanger cliffhanger OH MY GOODNESSSSSSS! COFFEE! Wheeeee! :D **

**Jesusfreak: You told me that, and I looked it up on Wikipidia, AND IT IS LEGIT! THEY MOVED IT AGAIN! I WILL BE LIKE, SOMEWHERE AROUND SIXTEEN WHEN IT COMES OUT LIKE AAAAAAAHHHHHH!**

Now that was a little strange.

"Thornado," Snotlout breathed. The dragon brayed. "I don't...how could Savage have gotten a hold on Thornado?"

"Savage told me that he captured them," said Hiccup. "Or, something like that, anyways. I wasn't paying very much attention." His mind was still locked on Elanor. He found himself hardly able to think about anything else. The girl whom he had never seen, who had died to save his life.

It wasn't fair in Hiccup's mind. He wished it could have ended differently for her. He wished that Savage had hit him. He wished that Elanor had survived. Well, Hiccup wished a lot of things he just didn't and couldn't have.

Fishlegs took to picking the lock that held Thornado's cage shut while Astrid helped Hiccup rise to a stand. Well, tried to, at least. As soon as he was standing, he cried out and fell against Astrid, her being the only thing holding him up.

Thinking he could have hurt himself more, Astrid carefully but quickly lowered Hiccup down into a laying position once more. "What happened?" Astrid demanded.

"Savage..." Hiccup breathed. "Savage..." He could feel his mind drifting away, growing quicker and quicker by the second. His breath hitched, his chest rising and falling unnaturally as he tried to suck air into his lungs.

"There!" Fishlegs exclaimed, having finally freed the Thunderdrum. Revenge - or, we shall now call him Thornado, for that is who he truly is - burst out of his cage and growled. He wanted to throw his head back and roar, but knew he couldn't. Savage and his men would find them then, and they couldn't risk that.

"What did Savage do, Hiccup?" said Astrid. Her voice was frantic, but at the same time, calming. Hiccup tried to relax and control his breathing, swallowing before speaking.

"He...stabbed..." That was all he got out before he started coughing.

"HE STABBED YOU!?" Astrid exclaimed.

"Um...guys, we really need to get out of here, before Savage comes for us," said Snotlout.

"For once, Snotlout, I actually agree with you," said Astrid. "But Hiccup can't stand, let alone walk, and going by dragon is too dangerous. Not to mention we only have one. There has to be something-"

"You grab his arms, I'll grab his legs," said Snotlout, not wasting any more time. They didn't have enough time as it was without people stalling. "We'll have to carry him."

Astrid nodded. It wasn't like he weighed very much to begin with.

"We'll get to the woods, and hide," said Snotlout. "We don't have much of a choice on that one. Berk's fleet will be here soon. Once they get here, we can get Hiccup onto one of those ships. But for now, we just have to get to the woods and keep out presence a secret."

"Why can't we just take the ship back to Berk?" said Ruffnut.

"Because," said Astrid, "it's too far away. There's no way we can carry Hiccup and get there without being spotted or captured by Savage and his savage men."

"Right," said Snotlout. "Come on, let's get moving." He grabbed Hiccup's legs, and Astrid hooked her arms under Hiccup's. "Ready?" said Snotlout.

Astrid nodded. "Ready," she said. In one swift movement, they lifted him off the ground.

"The forest," said Fishlegs. "Come on!" They turned and headed out the direction in which they came, Thornado in front to make sure none of Savage's men tried to sneak attack.

One or two soldiers came, probably to check on their Ex-Prisoner. Thornado knocked both of them out with one swift move, and didn't even falter. Once they made it back to open air, they headed straight for the forest.

They didn't receive any more trouble, which relieved Astrid all in all. They headed deeper and deeper and deeper into the forest until they came to a small clearing right in the middle of it.

"Okay," said Astrid. "Set him down, Snotlout, _gently..._"

Snotlout did so, and then Astrid finished laying Hiccup down as careful as ever. She looked back to Fishlegs.

"Did you bring any medical supplies by chance?" she asked hopefully.

"A few," said Fishlegs. He reached into his satchel furiously and pulled out some gauze. As soon as he did so, he raced over and handed them to the waiting hands of Astrid. She took them and looked back at Hiccup, studying his unconscious face before her eyes moved to his torso.

"Hey," said Hiccup, his voice a whisper. Astrid almost jumped, certain he had been unconscious. "Where are we?" he asked.

"In the forest," said Astrid, helping him sit up and lean against a tree. "We're hiding from Savage and his men here. Berk's fleet will be coming soon. Once they're here, we can get home. For now, though, I need to see your injuries." She went from sitting on her legs to sitting criss-cross-applesauce. "Where did he hurt you?"

"He stabbed me," said Hiccup, "here." His hands hovered over his abdomen. "And I broke some ribs and bruised another."

"Can I...can I see it?" Astrid asked. Hiccup nodded. Taking a deep breath, she carefully lifted his shirt to find the extent of the damage. When she did, she gasped.

There were bloodstained bandages wrapped around his stomach, and some more wrapped around his chest. Wasting no time at all, she took out some of the new gauze and wrapped them around the already wrapped wound. If it was still bleeding, she didn't want to remove any of the bandages. It could only make it worse.

"What should we do?" said Tuffnut while Astrid tended to Hiccup. "We can't start a fire now, can we? We'll be spotted."

"Of course we can't," said Snotlout.

"But waiting here for the Berkians is going to be insane," said Ruffnut. "Not insane, but really unsettling. What if Savage and his men find us? What then? We can't run, and we can't hide somewhere else. What will we do?"

"I don't know," said Snotlout. "But we can't do anything right now. One of us needs to keep watch. The others need to sleep."

"I can do it," said Tuffnut. "If Thornado helps." The Thunderdrum growled, and they all knew he would.

"Well then," said Snotlout. "Let's get some rest."


	20. Chapter 20

**You know what? Haunted French Pancakes give me the crapes. Okay, okay, I'm done with the puns for now. **

**MY EMAIL IS STILL WORKING YEEEESS! :D Shout-outs: **

**TheLastNightFury: WHY DREAMWORKS!? WHY 2018!? **

**Jesusfreak: You know, at first I was like, "2016? Not too bad. Only two years!" And then they changed it to 2017, and I was like, "Well, okay, I understand they might need more time. Only three years. Not too bad!" And then... "2018 AAAH WHAT ARE YOU DOING WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT FOUR YEARS LIKE AAAAGGGGGGHHHH!" **

**Edlover23: :) **

**AnimeAngel: I think Aquaria gave my email the creeps. *shivers* **

**silverwolvesarecool: Not good! :D Thanks for the review! :D **

**Silver Electricity: I HOPE THEY DO THAT! COOOOFFEEE WHEEEEEEEE! :D **

**Brenne: I sometimes I just want to slap Savage. *slaps him* There. Glad I got that off my chest. :) **

**Omegaman17: Everyone be like: "Why did Elanor have to die, BeyondTheClouds777?" And I be like: *shrug* I dunno BYEEEEE!" :) **

**Wanli8970: Yes, I did get Flara's information. Thanks! :D And yes, Savage is just a bully who wants to blame everyone else for his own actions. :) **

**LorreVarguhl: YES I really hope everything turns out alright! Let's see...(he he he) **

**mycove: Thanks! :D I love Thornado! :D And WHY DOES HTTYD3 HAVE TO BE SO FAR AWAY!? *springs up from chair* *crashes into bookshelf in anger***

**xFaerieValkyriex: THORNADO I LOVE YOU THORNADO! :D **

The next morning, they started making plans. Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut sat in a circle, watching as Snotlout drew something in the dirt with a stick.

"When Berk and its fleet gets here," said Snotlout, "we'll need to get Hiccup to the ship. He can't stay here any longer than he has to."

"I'm fine," said Hiccup, but then just ended up crying out in pain. He was still leaning up against the tree, Astrid by his side, unable to pull herself away. She was too worried about him to be able to do so.

"No you're not," said Astrid gently. "You need to rest."

"But I have to make sure you guys are okay," he said.

"No, _we're_ fine," said Astrid. "It's you who needs to just take a break."

Hiccup nodded half-heartedly.

"We can't stay here any longer than we have to," said Snotlout. "I say we send someone out to scout out and see if the Berkians are somewhere close. It's been about a day, after all. They should be here soon."

"You're right," said Fishlegs. "But which one of us should scout?"

"Ruff and Tuff," said Hiccup, "you two take the south end...aaah," Hiccup tried, but ended up crying out in the end, his hands clutching his wound.

"For five minutes," said Astrid. "Could you stop giving orders, for five minutes?" Hiccup half-nodded. Astrid looked over at the rest of her friends. "Ruffnut, Tuffnut, you two go scout," she said. "Bring word if anything happens, no matter what it is, or how insignificant it seems. And no matter what happens, don't get caught."

"Got it," said Ruffnut and Tuffnut in unison. Then, they turned and ran off.

...

"SIR!" one of Savage's men shouted, running up to him.

Savage turned around to face the soldier, and grinned. The soldier stopped in front of him, placing his hands on his knees, gasping as he regained his breath.

"Ah," said Savage. "I trust you bring me good news."

"Actually sir," said the soldier, "this is about the boy you captured."

"Ahh, him," said Sagave. "I assume he is quite dead by now. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Um...that was it, Sir," said the soldier. "The glass enclosure is broken. There's no sign of the boy."

"WHAT!?" Savage roared in an outrage. "WELL WHAT ARE YOU DOING STANDING AROUND HERE!? GO FIND HIM! GO!" He shoved the soldier, and the soldier wasted no time in turning and running off. "GET THE MEN!" shouted Savage. "We're going to go out, and we are going to FIND that boy! He shouldn't be able to get too far in his condition. I WANT HIM DEAD. If you find him...KILL HIM!"

The soldiers got together, and then spread out across the island, in search of the Dragon Conqueror.

...

Ruffnut and Tuffnut hid behind a rock outside the forest and watched as soldiers scattered in all directions.

"COME ON!" one of the men shouted. "NO ONE RESTS UNTIL WE FIND THE DRAGON CONQUEROR!"

"Whoa," said Ruffnut. "There's a lot of them."

"Yes, there is," said Tuffnut. "Should we go give word to the others?"

"Yes, we should," said Ruffnut. "Come on!" They both turned, and ran back into the forest from whence they came.

Nothing had changed, only this time, Thornado was standing guard over Hiccup and Astrid. Tuffnut and Ruffnut ran into their makeshift camp and gasped to get the air back in their lungs.

"Well?" said Snotlout. "Did you find anything?"

"Yeah," said Tuffnut. "There are tons of soldiers, spreading out around this island."

"What!?" the others shouted in unison. Thornado growled.

"Yes," said Tuffnut. "They're everywhere."

"They said they're looking for the 'Dragon Conqueror,'" said Ruffnut, making quotation marks with her fingers.

"Well, they can't have him," said Astrid. "And they have to deal with it."

"So it's me they want?" said Hiccup. "Well, of course it is...they always want me."

"You're the Dragon Conqueror, aren't you?" said Snotlout. "Yes, they want you."

"I'm just putting you guys in danger here," said Hiccup. "I need to go turn myself in-"

"Oh no you will _NOT _turn yourself in," said Astrid. "No more being the hero for you."

"But you guys..." said Hiccup. "You're in danger as long as I'm here. I have to go, and then you can escape to Berk. You'll be safe there."

"No," said Astrid. "No, you're not going anywhere, and neither are we. If Savage and his barbaric band of barbarians so much as step foot in this accursed forest, I will make sure they never cross swords with any Berkian ever again."

"Besides," said Fishlegs, "it's not like you could get very far without collapsing."

"I just don't want you guys to be in danger," said Hiccup. "Especially if it's because of me."

"Hey," said Astrid. "It's an occupational hazard."

"Somehow I _knew _those words would find their way back to me," said Hiccup.

Astrid laughed. "And being able to be friends with you is an occupational benefit," she said.

"An occupational benefit?" said Hiccup. Astrid nodded. "Well," said Hiccup, "I don't quite know how to respond to that."

"What do we do?" said Ruffnut.

"We can't let them find us," said Hiccup. "If they do, then it's over."

"Then what do we do?" said Snotlout.

"Well, we have to do something," said Hiccup. "For now, we'll wait. No one else leaves. We can't risk them getting caught. If Savage and his men find us...well...just don't let them find us."

...

"Sir, we found something of significance," said a soldier to their leader.

Savage growled. "This better be good," he said, "because your life depends on it."

"I hate it when you say that," the guard mumbled, but complied. He walked to the shore, Savage hot on his heels.

"Look," said the soldier.

Savage squinted, and then grinned. "A Berkian ship," he said. "Marvelous."

"The ship is empty, captain," said the soldier. "We have already searched it."

"Which means that they are still here," said Savage. "Blow this ship to bits with those bottles of Zippleback gas we've been storing!" he ordered. "And then get the others to continue searching! Not one man sleeps, eats, or drinks until we've found...THAT...BOY!"


	21. Chapter 21

**Whoa, okay, so I have been busy. :) I am going to start posting another fanfiction while this one is still in progress, and it will be a seven-shot fanfiction called "When All Hope Seems Lost." I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Shout-outs:**

**TheLastNightFury: You asked in a review for "Animal House" if you could do a cover for it (Animal House), and the answer is yes. :D **

**silverwolvesarecool: Oh, you can say that again! See, Hiccup! See! :) **

** : Thanks so much for the review! :D **

**Dragons and Kratts: Hahahaha. :D That's about it. Thank you for reviewing! :) **

**Omegaman17: YES GO OMEGAMAN17! GO! WE ARE ALL ROUTING FOR YOU! :D **

**Silver Electricity: LATTES!? WHAT IS SLEEP!? BWAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAAAA! **

**Edlover23: Thanks for reviewing, and I'm sorry getting your chapter back to you is taking me so long. I'm really trying to do a good job of it, plus I'm busy like crazy. But I am working on it. :) And I love it. :D **

**summergirl404: Thanks! Yeah, I want there to be a new episode for "Dragons" when Hiccup gets blind in the beginning of the episode, and then somehow gets it back at the end. It would have to be a longer episode, though, but I think lots of people would enjoy it. :) **

**midnightsky0612: DESTROY SAVAGE! YAY!**

**AnimeAngel: Let's "motivate" the email next time it goofs up. :) **

**LorreVarguhl: I think he is! HAHA! **

Hiccup made it absolutely clear that he didn't want to talk about anything that had happened.

People tried to ask him if he was alright; they asked him what had happened; they asked him how exactly Elanor had died; but he refused all of them, using the excuse that he was exhausted.

Astrid saw right through it, but didn't press him. It was obvious he didn't want people to ask him about it, and even more so that he didn't want to talk about it.

They suddenly heard footsteps; someone was coming in their direction.

"Hide, everyone!" Hiccup said in a harsh whisper. Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Fishlegs dove into bushes to hide, while Thornado swept overhead and covered Hiccup and Astrid with his wings to shield them.

Thornado scanned the area with his eyes, growling in different directions whenever they heard a shout or cry of one of the enemy troops. Hiccup and Astrid huddled in the shadow of the Thunderdrum's wing, trying to keep themselves as quiet as possible.

The shouts were getting closer; it was getting harder and harder to stay silent while listening to their enemies cry out directions and instructions to each other, not knowing where they were, or how close they were getting.

Hiccup leaned entirely against Astrid, unable to remain sitting up on his own. She wrapped her arms around him, staring at Thornado's wings, waiting for something to happen. She found herself absolutely terrified of what could happen in the future to come.

The footsteps got closer, and then stopped. The dragon riders held their breath as they waited for the worst to come, but it never did. The footsteps continued once more, and then got quieter and quieter until finally, they disappeared altogether.

Hiccup released the breath he was holding in one motion and then sat there, gasping for breath and smiling like a mentally messed up person just because they hadn't been found out yet. They were safe.

For now.

"That was...terrifying," said Astrid.

"Don't even mention it," said Hiccup.

Suddenly, they heard an explosion out in the distance. Thornado shrieked and sprang to his feet, along with everyone but Hiccup and Astrid. They watched smoke rise from the shore, and then turned to each other.

"They blew up our ship, more than likely," said Astrid.

"Splendid!" said Snotlout. "So, we're stranded on this blasted island, with no place to go! The only dragon we've got is sir Renevgy-Tornado, but he can't take us all back to Berk, especially if Savage and his band of what-does-he-call-them has bola launchers!"

"Snotlout, calm down!" said Astrid.

"And _YOU_," Snotlout accused. "This is all your fault to begin with! If you hadn't suggested it, we wouldn't be here in the first place!"

"You have _got _to be _kidding_," said Astrid.

"It's your fault too, isn't it, Snotlout?" said Tuffnut. "I mean, it's your fault Hiccup is blind in the first place! If he hadn't ever went blind, none of this probably would have happened!"

"Well at least I'm trying to help!" said Snotlout.

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Fishlegs suspiciously.

"It means that _I'm _actually trying to do something to help the situation," said Snotlout, "while you guys sit around like...like...like downed dragons!"

"You couldn't think of a better insult!?" Astrid stepped forward.

"Oh, did I say that?" said Snotlout. "I meant to say, 'legless fools'!"

"How dare you!?" Astrid challenged.

"It's your fault, Snotlout, that this happened!" Ruffnut accused. "Don't deny it!"

"Well it's just as much your fault as it is mine!" said Snotlout.

"Why!?" said Ruffnut. "What did _I _do!?"

"STOP IT!" Hiccup yelled, jumping to his feet. Everyone instantly silenced themselves, not expecting the sudden outburst. "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" They all stared at him, unsure of what they should have been feeling, or what they should have done to respond. Before they could even think about replying, Hiccup turned and stomped off, deeper into the forest.

"Hiccup, wait!" Astrid shouted to him, running in his direction. His footsteps didn't falter, and he didn't stop, nor did he even _think _about pausing for just a second. He bonked into a few trees as he walked, since he couldn't see, but still managed to maneuver and weave himself through the forest without too big of a problem.

At length he couldn't walk anymore, so he put his hand against a tree and then sank to the ground. He heard Astrid stop in her tracks, and then walk towards him, not speaking, not knowing what to say.

He was sick of it. He was sick and tired of listening to his friends argue and fight about whose fault it was they were stuck on that accursed island. He hated listening to them bicker and yell at each other, throwing accusations out like they were flowers at a wedding. He couldn't stand it on a normal day. And now today, he really couldn't stand it.

"Hiccup?" said Astrid.

"Just go away," he said.

"Hiccup, I'm sorry," said Astrid.

Hiccup sighed. "I just wish you guys could get along," he moaned. "You _never _listen to a word I say, and when you do, it's only because it's a life or death situation. You guys can't get along, Ruffnut and Tuffnut are _constantly _at each other's throats, and you and Snotlout, and even _Fishlegs_, are no better."

He heard and then felt her sit down next to him. He didn't even turn his head.

"You guys are _supposed _to be friends," said Hiccup.

"We are friends," said Astrid.

Hiccup gave her an "are-you-serious?" look. "Really?" he said. "Could have fooled _me_."

Astrid frowned. "I guess we haven't really been treating each other like friends, have we?" she said.

"You most _certainly _have _not_," said Hiccup. He sighed. "You know what it took to get you guys to be my friends? Do you know what it took, Astrid?" He didn't wait for her to answer before he continued. "It took me losing a leg," he said. "And even now, you guys barely listen to me." He sighed again and shook his head. "You know, it makes me worried," he said. "How much more am I going to have to sacrifice, just to get you guys to _hear me out?" _

"Why...why haven't you talked to anyone about this before?" Astrid asked. "Why now? Why not before this?"

"Because you guys _never listen_," said Hiccup. "The twins and Snotlout; everything I tell them goes _in _one ear and _out _the other. And Fishlegs is too competitive...and so are you! Ruff and Tuff bicker, you and Snotlout challenge each other, Fishlegs jumps in...so where does that leave me? Trying to get you guys to stop. But do you listen? _No_. No, of course you don't."

"We all care," said Astrid. "We do, we _really _do."

"Then why don't you act like it?" he asked.

Astrid opened her mouth to say something, and then ended up closing it in the end. He had a point. A _good _one, at that.

"That's what I thought," said Hiccup when she didn't answer. "Could you guys at least _try _to get along? Right now...we need to be working as a _team_. Like a...well-oiled catapult."

Astrid nodded. "I'm sorry," she said.

"It's not just you," said Hiccup. "It's me, too, I guess. I'm supposed to be leading you guys, and yet...I don't know. I just feel like I'm failing you guys. _All the time_."

"You're not," said Astrid.

"Well, thanks," said Hiccup. "Let's go back and meet the others."

"Sounds good," said Astrid. "And...thanks, for talking to me about this."

"Well, thanks," said Hiccup.

"For what?" said Astrid.

"Listening," said Hiccup.


	22. Chapter 22

**'ello my people. :) Shout-outs: **

**Paloma2323: YAY SOMEONE GOT IT! :D I watched the HTTYD2 teaser trailer before I even got an account on here, and I loved the song so much, so I found out what it was called, and then made my username after it (with a 777 at the end of it). And you know, I have been waiting for someone to realize that. You are the first! :D XD! CONGRATULATIONS! :D Two donuts for you! **

**Edlover23: Yeah, them picking fights, Hiccup getting frustrated...yep. **

**HiccupHaddockIII: HICCSTRID AAAAAAH! :D**

**AnimeAngel: My email is behaving...THANK YOU, AQUARIA, AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO SUPPLIED ME WITH WEAPONS TO USE AGAINST MY EVIL EMAIL! :D **

**Brenne: YOU HIT HIM WITH A SHOVEL! AWESOME! :D And yes, I agree. Even Astrid, although she's smart, is still naive at the same time. She gets distracted easily, while Hiccup is very straightforward. Fishlegs is smart, yes, but not really. Fishlegs just knows the facts; Hiccup knows the facts, and then can take them and use them. :) **

**midnightsky0612: XD! **

**Silver Electricity: POOR HICCUP I AM SO EVIL AAAAGH! DIE SAVAGE! I don't know what he felt when Elanor died. *shrugs* He's a cold hearted madman in my opinion. :) **

**LorreVarguhl: AWW, Hiccup! **

**TheLastNightFury: It doesn't really matter; whichever one you want to do is cool with me. :) Thanks! :D**

Astrid helped Hiccup back to their makeshift camp. He was still hurt, and worn out, but more of his energy was returning to the point where he could walk and stand without feeling like he was about to collapse. Like Elanor had said; _He doesn't want you dead_.

_Elanor_. Hiccup hadn't thought about her for the past hour or so. He felt tears sting her eyes as he remembered the sweet girl who had saved his life so many times while Savage was trying to make him train dragons.

He never even knew what she truly looked like. Of course, she had told him, but it wasn't the same. You can't just hear about something to feel the thrill and joy of whatever it was. You have to be able to see it.

And he hadn't been able to see the very person who had sacrificed herself for him. She had died for him. It made him feel sick to think about. Someone had died to save his life. And what did he ever give her in return?

Nothing. She had saved him, and he hadn't been able to give her anything in return. For the utmost time, he wished that it had been him who had been killed by Savage's deadly arrow. But, no such luck existed. And he couldn't change the past.

As soon as Astrid and Hiccup made it back to their camp, they were ambushed by Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut all at once.

"I'm so sorry, Hiccup," said Fishlegs.

"Yeah, me too," said Tuffnut. "We all are."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, too," said Hiccup. "I might have overreacted."

"No, you were right," said Fishlegs. "If we're stuck here, yelling at each other's not going to help anything."

"Yeah," said Ruffnut. "And we're sorry. We really are."

"I believe you," said Hiccup. "So," he said, changing the subject, "any sign of Berk's fleet?"

"Not even a small one," said Snotlout, shaking his head. "I would think as soon as they get here, we'll hear some pretty terrible battle cries. You should probably stick around here while the rest of us help Berk out."

"What?" said Hiccup. "No, I'm not going to sit around here while you guys go fight for me."

"Hiccup, you're still recovering," said Astrid. "And the battle will be horrendous."

"Horrendous is my middle name," said Hiccup. All he got was silence while Astrid smacked her forehead. "What?" he said. "It is."

"It doesn't change anything," said Astrid once she got done facepalming. "Berk's fleet will be here, and once they are, we have to be ready. You got a plan, Dragon Boy?"

"Actually," said Hiccup, "I do."

"What is it?" the others asked in unison.

Before Hiccup answered, a horn was sounded in the distance. The dragon riders and Thornado turned in the direction from whence it came, listening while they heard Savage and his men shout "The Berkians are here!" Men raced in all directions, drawing their weapons as they went.

"Okay, Hiccup," said Astrid. "Now would be a _great _time to tell us that plan of yours."

Hiccup grinned. "We _improvise_."

...

"I hate your plans," Astrid grumbled.

"Sorry about that," said Hiccup. "It's not my fault I'm an ignorant brainiac."

"No, I mean...I _really _hate your plans," said Astrid.

They were hiding behind a bolder right outside the forest, watching as Savage's followers raced to and fro, towards the shore where the Berkian ships were being docked. Night had already fallen, leaving the entire surface of the island darkened with the shadow of night.

"I hate my plans, too," said Hiccup. And at that moment, he truly did.

"Improvise," said Snotlout. "_That's _your plan? What does that even mean?"

"Does everyone have a weapon?" Hiccup asked.

"Um..._yeah_," said Astrid. "Why-"

"Get them ready," said Hiccup. Ruffnut and Tuffnut drew their spears while Snotlout and Fishlegs drew their swords. Astrid wrapped her hand around her axe handle and unsheathed it. Hiccup grabbed his dagger by its hilt and pulled it in front of him. He forgot that he had Inferno strapped around his leg.

"Is this part of improvising?" said Astrid. "We fight?"

"Yes," said Hiccup. "And if anyone asks, this was my stupid idea."

"So...what should we do?" asked Astrid. "Telling us to improvise doesn't really help much, Hiccup."

"Ruffnut and Tuffnut," said Hiccup, "you two go scout on the shore, bring word to me, whatever you find."

"Gotcha," said the twins, and ran off, keeping low to the ground in order to stay hidden.

"Snotlout and Fishlegs," said Hiccup, "you two try and see how many men Savage has on his side, see what kind of weapons they have, and try to find out what he used to blow our ship to bits."

"Okie dokie," said Snotlout. He and Fishlegs turned and bolted.

"And...what are we going to do?" Astrid asked as soon as the others were out of sight.

"Improvise," said Hiccup. "Come on, let's go."

Somehow, he and Astrid actually managed to get towards the shore without being spotted. Astrid did most of the leading while Hiccup followed, simply because he couldn't see anything at all.

"Okay," said Astrid. "We're here, at the docks."

"Tell me what you see," said Hiccup.

"Soldiers," said Astrid. "A whole mess of soldiers. And then Berk's ships are just docking...Savage is approaching, his men are behind him. Stoick is on one of the ships...it looks like they brought the entire Berkian armada."

"Would make sense why they would, now that I think about it," said Hiccup. "Kidnapping the heir of Berk is a pretty big deal."

"Savage," said Stoick.

"Savage?" villagers breathed and whispered to each other. Astrid and Hiccup turned their heads as Stoick lowered a plank and walked off the warship.

"Where's Hiccup?" he demanded.

Savage laughed. "You won't find him here," he said. "I got rid of 'em. Kid talks too much for his own good, Stoick!"

"You wouldn't kill him, Savage," said Stoick. "He's the only reason we're here. You wouldn't kill him. You're too smart for that."

"He was buggin' me, Stoick," said Savage. "How would you know what I did and didn't do? I told you, I got rid of 'em! He's gone for good!"

Astrid nudged Hiccup from their hiding place. "Ruffnut and Tuffnut are watching," she whispered. "There hiding, but I can see them."

"So they're in danger," said Hiccup.

"Possibly," said Astrid.

"Hiccup! Astrid!" Fishlegs and Snotlout said in harsh whispers while running up to them. They were carrying a large crate between the two of them, struggling against the weight.

"We found out what they used to blow up that ship," said Snotlout. Hiccup lifted the lid of the crate, and then felt around inside.

"Bottles?" he asked.

"Not just bottles," said Fishlegs. "Bottles of Zippleback gas. They'll work like bombs. Any fire within ten feet, and boom, you're dead."

"Leave it here," said Hiccup. "Whatever you do, don't move it."

"Do you have a plan?" said Astrid. "A _real _plan, this time?"

"Actually," said Hiccup, smiling, "I think I just might."


	23. Chapter 23

**Okay, so I honestly thought this story was going to be longer, but this is the second to last chapter here, guys! ONE MORE TO GO AFTER THIS ONE, AND THEN THE STORY'S DONE! WOW! :D I will post the last chapter a little bit later. :) Shout-outs: **

**TheLastNightFury777: Oh, Hiccup and his plans. :) SWEET you got an account! Awesome! :D 777...:) **

**LorreVarguhl: Crazy. That's what his ideas are. Crazy. :D **

**Edlover23: WHAT ARE THEY PLANNING!? WHO KNOWS! :D **

**AnimeAngel: I laughed at what you said. :D **

"I'm not going to ask you again!" said Stoick. "Where's Hiccup?"

"I've already answered that question!" said Savage. "Hiccup is gone!"

"What do we do?" Snotlout whispered to Hiccup from their hiding spot.

"Okay," said Hiccup. "This is going to sound utterly and entirely crazy, but you have to trust me."

"Okay, trusting you," said Astrid. "What's your plan?" She suddenly looked around, and realized that Thornado was no where to be found. "Where's Thornado!?" she asked.

"Waiting for my signal," said Hiccup.

"You didn't tell us you had a signal!" said Astrid.

"I didn't find it significant!" said Hiccup.

"You're going to be the death of us..." Snotlout mumbled.

Before Hiccup could answer, Stoick and Savage charged at each other.

"Oookay, times up," Hiccup mumbled.

"What about your plan?" said Astrid.

"Forget the plan," said Hiccup. "Improvise! Do something!"

"IMPROVISING DOESN'T WORK!" Astrid said in the harshest whisper she could muster.

Before they even knew what was happening, the two armies were at each others throats. Metal hit metal in horrendous clashes and clanks as the battle raged on.

"Okay, okay, okay," said Hiccup. "We move in three...two...one...NOW!"

And so they started running. They ran straight through the battlefield, ducking and swinging their weapons for defense and defense only.

"What about that plan, Dragon Boy?" Astrid asked, parrying with a soldier.

"The explosives," said Hiccup. "You have to lure Savage over to the explosives. I'll be there ready to ignite them. Once we do, it is going to get really crazy really fast."

"So we're luring Savage to you," said Snotlout.

"_Exactly," _said Hiccup. "But don't let him know I'm still alive. He might think I'm dead."

"Are you sure you'll be okay, finding your way around and everything?" said Astrid.

"I'll be fine," said Hiccup. "Go on." Then, Hiccup turned and stumbled back towards the boulder while his friends worked on their part. He felt around blindly until he crashed into the rock they had previously been hiding behind. Feeling around, Hiccup found the crate full of bottles with Zippleback gas.

"Okay," said Hiccup. "Now I just need to find something to ignite this with."

He suddenly remembered Inferno, and he felt stupid. He had only built the flame sword recently, and yet he kept forgetting that he had it. But it was also a fire hazard as well, so he would have to open it only when the time was right.

Hiccup whistled to Thornado; the signal for the dragon to come out. Thornado did so, and then regarded Hiccup with a nod, pressing his nose against Hiccup's side, since he realized that the boy couldn't see.

"If any of the others are anywhere near this place when it blows," said Hiccup to the dragon, "you need to get them away. At least a hundred feet distance to be one-hundred percent explosion safe. Got that?"

Thornado nodded. Hiccup smiled back at the dragon.

"Well then," he said, "stick around and get ready. As soon as Savage is close enough, I'm blowing this party."

Astrid looked around for Savage. Ruffnut and Tuffnut had joined them shortly before, and so now they all searched for the crazy man.

"Where'd he go?" said Snotlout. "He was fighting Stoick a second ago, wasn't he?"

"Yeah," said Ruffnut. "But he's gone now."

"Come on," said Astrid. "We have to find him, before he finds Hiccup."

Savage ran across the battlefield, keeping out of the Berkians' sights. After fending off Stoick long enough before the Berkian Chief got distracted, he had darted away, now searching for the Dragon Conqueror. If Berk was here, and Hiccup was alive, then that meant the boy couldn't have been far away.

He was too loyal to his friends and island. That was one of his flaws. Loyalty. He wouldn't watch as the ones he cared about fought. He would fight with him, even if it meant his death.

Then, he saw him, crouching behind a boulder, obviously trying to hide. This was it. Savage grinned to himself as he thought over his plan once more. He could use Hiccup as the reason for the Berkians to give up. They wouldn't keep fighting if Savage threatened to kill their heir if they continued.

Plus, the boy was blind, which was an absolutely _huge _bonus.

So, Savage snuck up behind him, unsheathed his dagger, and then grabbed one of Hiccup's arms. Hiccup shrieked and tried to jerk himself away, but to no avail. Savage somehow managed to grab the boy's other arm, holding both of them in one hand, pinned behind his back, while he held his dagger to Hiccup's throat.

"Stoick!" Savage shouted, although he couldn't find the Berkian chief in the mess of the battle that was raging on. "I have a proposition for you!"

The Berkians turned and looked in the same direction, and then gasped. Astrid ran forward, and felt her blood freeze. Hiccup being held back by Savage, the enemy leader holding a dagger dangerously close to Hiccup's throat.

"Hiccup!" she shouted, and started to run forward, lifting her axe over her head, ready to use it. This was it. Savage had gone _too _far with this one. But before she got very far at all, Savage stopped her.

"Ah ah ah!" he said, pointing to her with one of his fingers that held the dagger. Astrid stopped dead in her tracks. "You move one step closer, and...well..." He looked to Hiccup, "you'll be looking for a new heir!"

"Hiccup!" Stoick shouted, making his presence known as he pushed his way to the front and gasped at the sight before him.

"That's it! Everyone stay right where you are!" said Savage. No one moved; some of them even forgot to breathe, holding their breath until they couldn't hold it any longer. "Berkians," Savage went on, "you have to understand that if any single one of you makes a move against me, or one of my men...or anyone following me at all, I will kill Hiccup; your precious heir to the throne of Berk." Hiccup swallowed, painfully aware of the dagger pressed to his throat. "So, this is what you do!" Savage continued. "You lay down your weapons, and surrender to me, and I will let HIccup go! But...if you don't...then you're going to have to pay the price!"

Villagers gasped, waiting for their chief to act. But before he did, Hiccup broke out laughing.

_Laughing_. He just started laughing and grinning like mad, and for a second, Astrid was sure he had a mental issue, until she saw him moving one of his hands, wrapping his fingers around the hilt to Inferno, ever so slowly, to make sure Savage didn't feel one of his hands squirming.

Oh no. She knew what he was planning.

"WHAT!?" Savage shouted. "What did I miss!?"

"Oh, Savage," said Hiccup. "You're not going to _kill _me."

The Berkians watched their heir with wonder in their eyes, not knowing how he was going to get out of the mess he was in.

"You won't have a chance to," said Hiccup, and got ready to click the button to light the blade.

Astrid knew what he was going to do.

"NO!" she shouted. "HICCUP DON'T!"

She was cut off when something swooped out of no where and grabbed her arm, yanking her away, pushing other people back as it blurred.

Astrid hardly registered that. Hiccup clicked Inferno, and _threw _the flame lit sword towards the crate of Zippleback gas.

The entire area exploded in a fiery blaze.


	24. Chapter 24

**So, yeah. LAST CHAPTER, OH BOY. Shout-outs: **

** : My thoughts _exactly_. :) **

**TheLastNightFury777: Okay, thank you! :D **

**silverwolvesarecool: Hiccup's INSANE. :) **

**midnightsky0612: Yep, that's Hiccup for you. :) **

**HiccupHaddockIII: We shall see! :D **

**Omegaman17: :)**

**Sophhascoconuts: AAAAHHHHH!**

**THIS IS THE DEFINING CHAPTER, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. WHAT SHALL HAPPEN!? **

Astrid opened her eyes and was greeted by a smoky, ashy landscape. She sat up and looked around, wincing at any movement whatsoever. She looked around her, seeing soldiers getting to their feet all over the place, from both the good side and the bad side. No one actually looked too severely injured.

Astrid found herself wondering what had happened, until her memory came flooding back into her mind like a river.

_Hiccup's voice, as he drew Inferno and got ready to light it. "Oh, Savage. You're not going to _kill_ me. You won't have a chance to." _

_Her own screams, begging him to find a different way. "NO! HICCUP DON'T!" But there was no other way. An explosion. That's what happened. An explosion. But even that didn't explain everything. _

"Hiccup?" she breathed, jumping to her feet. She spun in a circle, eying her surroundings wearily. "Hiccup!" she shouted. She took off running across the battlefield, ignoring people shouting to her, ignoring pretty much everything else.

"Astrid!" she heard Stoick shout to her, but not even that mattered. She ran straight to the spot of the explosion, ignoring the fact that Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Stoick, and a whole bunch of other villagers were following her.

Astrid stared at the ground, and then gasped. Pieces of shattered glas, along with smoldering wood, and the hilt to a sword without a blade.

_Inferno_.

Astrid picked the sword up and clicked it. The firelit blade popped out in all its wild fury. Maybe if the sword could survive the explosion, so could its maker.

But turning around, she almost lost hope.

"Hiccup," she whispered, and then raced forward.

...

"Will he be okay?"

Stoick looked up at Astrid as she came below deck. He sighed and stood up.

"I think he will," said Stoick. "He's strong, you know, more strong than people give him credit for, actually. He'll pull through."

And so they had found Hiccup, but he wasn't in good shape, so to speak. He was unconscious, looking more pale than he normally was. And so they had taken him below decks to one of the ships, and then set sail back to Berk.

But not before Astrid and the other dragon riders had stumbled across the body of Thornado.

The Thunderdrum...the poor, poor Thunderdrum, had been protecting a Berkian when the worst of the explosion took his life. Astrid had recounted everything to Stoick; Hiccup being hurt when they found him, what state he was in when they found him, and then lastly, Thornado.

Stoick remained speechless while Astrid recounted the tale. He, when she was done, nodded, and told her that Thornado had died an honorable death as a true warrior, protecting the ones he cared about.

Just like Hiccup almost did.

One of the healers had come with the Berkian soldiers, just because it was always wise to have a healer when you march out to war. She had said that Hiccup had been very lucky, and the explosion didn't exactly aim straight for him. It blasted Savage mostly, leaving Hiccup unconscious and hurt, but luckily, not dead.

And then of course the trip home was uneventful; very uneventful. Nothing of significance took place whatsoever. Hiccup didn't wake up, the whole mood of the ship was rough and worried.

But he would be fine. Hiccup would wake up, and everything would be okay.

Right?

...

Hiccup opened his eyes, feeling groggy and exhausted, but for some strange reason, better than he had felt in years. He didn't know why, exactly. He looked over and saw Toothless sleeping in the corner...

Wait.

Saw?

He blinked twice. He could see. He pinched himself, wondering if it was just a dream, but it wasn't. He could see. He could see again.

"I...I can see," he said to himself.

Toothless perked up as soon as Hiccup spoke, and then made his way over to him and nuzzled him. Hiccup ran his hand over his dragon's head and then looked at him.

"Toothless," he said, "I can see."

Toothless yowled and bounced in circles around the room, making the entire house shudder. Hiccup laughed at the dragon's antics, and then ended up wincing in the end. He put a hand on his ribs; right, some of them were still broken.

Worried, Toothless moved over to him again.

"Oh, it's okay buddy, I'm okay," said Hiccup. "Yeah, just sore."

As if on cue, footsteps welcomed their ears. Hiccup turned to the doorway just as Astrid and Stoick raced into the room.

"Hey Astrid," said Hiccup. "Hey Dad."

They both stopped. How did Hiccup know it was them if he couldn't see...

"How did you know it was us?" Astrid asked.

"I can see again, Astrid," said Hiccup. "I'm not blind anymore."

...

An announcement was made concerning Hiccup being able to see. Of course, Hiccup hadn't been able to attend, since he was bedridden for a few weeks after the entire affair with Savage and his ruffians.

It was nearly two weeks before Hiccup was able to at least walk on his own, and even then he used a crutch occasionally. It was on the last day of the week that he finally felt up to actually seeing the treehouse with his own eyes.

He followed the dragon riders on Toothless, and then gasped at the sight of the treehouse.

"You guys really built this?" said Hiccup. "All by yourself?"

"You bet," said Astrid.

"It looks...amazing," said Hiccup. "It's nice to see all your hard work."

"It's nice to hear you say that again," said Astrid. "I'm glad you weren't permanently blind."

"Me too," said Hiccup.

...

Explosions were an occupational hazard. Hiccup had learned that over the years, from working in a forge most his life, to falling into the flames during the battle of the Red Death, to trying to teach Ruffnut and Tuffnut how to control their Zippleback, and to running the entire Berk Dragon Training Academy.

And then that explosion two weeks ago. Yes, explosions were_ quite_ the occupational hazard indeed. There was no doubt about that at all. And so when he had the chance to save everyone he cared about by a simple explosion, did he take it? You better believe he did.

But then of course, occupational hazards often have occupational consequences. For Hiccup all those years ago, it had been his leg. And now, when fighting Savage, it could have possibly been his life.

Then again, with every occupational hazard there is an occupational consequence, and with every occupational consequence, there is an occupational benefit. An occupational benefit. During the fight with the Red Death, the benefit was being accepted in the village, and making peace with dragons. And now, the benefit was being able to save those he loved and cared about.

So all in all, Hiccup was okay risking his life to protect those he cared about.

It was an occupational opportunity.

_**THE END**_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>

**So, I'm not going to write a sequel to this, or anything. I'm just going to leave it here, but if anyone else wants to write a continuing story, they're welcome to. I have a lot of writing to catch up to with other requested stories. **

**So, all in all, although this story is probably not my best one, I hope you all thoroughly enjoyed reading "Blind Sight." Until next time, this is BeyondTheClouds777 signing out. :) **

**-BeyondTheClouds777**


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